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Beedie Luminaries has 30 scholarships available to B.C. single parents

The social-profit enterprise has given seven scholarships to Grade 12 students in Delta over the years
Ryan Beedie 2022
The non-profit is a scholarship foundation founded by philanthropist Ryan Beedie, who is the president of Beedie Real Estate Development Company.

Non-profit society Beedie Luminaries wants to support single parents interested in going back to school or pursuing a higher education, and with 30 scholarships, all worth up to $40,000, they intend to make good on that promise.

For 2022, they’ve doubled the number of Single Parent Award for Resilience & Knowledge (SPARK) scholarships available to applicants. The deadline to submit is April 21 at 9 a.m.

Executive Director of Beedie Luminaries Martina Meckova highlights the many stressors that single parents face – including lack of flexible work arrangements, the scarcity and expensiveness of childcare and soaring costs of living – when explaining where the idea behind this scholarship program came from.

“We are well aware that this is all negatively affecting the wellbeing on the children and parent in these households, and also seeing through our Beedie Luminaries [Grade 12] program, where over 55 per cent of our students live with a single parent, we recognized the need,” she says.

The SPARK program was launched last year and they saw an incredible amount of single parent applicants. This was the inspiration behind increasing the number of scholarships available for 2022.

Full-time students receive $40,000 – with $10,000 each year for up to four years of study – and part-time students receive $30,000 – with $5,000 each year for up to six years.

To be eligible for a SPARK scholarship, you must:

  • Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident since 2020 who is residing full-time in B.C.
  • Be at least 19-years old and a single parent with a high-school diploma or equivalent
  • Demonstrate your and / or your family’s financial adversity and its effects
  • Apply to or be currently enrolled at an eligible B.C. post-secondary institution with the intent of being a full-time or part-time student
  • Be endorsed or referred by one of Beedie Luminaries’ community partners, or alternatively, be a parent of a current Beedie Luminary student.

The non-profit has also expanded their list of community partners. They include: Immigrant Services Society of B.C., Mom2Mom, Mothers Matter, YMCA of Greater Vancouver, YWCA Metro Vancouver, Family Services of Greater Vancouver, Minerva Foundation, Atira, B.C. Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, B.C. Council for Families, The Cridge Centre for the Family, Family Services of the North Shore, Mosaic, New Relationship Trust, South Okanagan Immigrant & Community Services, Up With Women, Urban Native Youth Association, Westcoast Family Centres and Vancouver Coastal Health’s Healthiest Babies Possible and Youth Pregnancy & Parenting Program.

“I would encourage potential candidates or people who are interested to learn more to find out and contact the community partners directly. What we are looking for is association, and we also want single parents in need of these services provided by our community partners to be aware [what is] available to them and connect them to the services in their area,” says Meckova.

Beedie Luminaries has given seven scholarships up to $40,000 each to Grade 12 students in Delta. The non-profit is a scholarship foundation founded by philanthropist Ryan Beedie, who is the president of Beedie Real Estate Development Company.

For more information on the SPARK program and scholarship eligibility, visit https://bit.ly/36lPK1t and Beedie Luminaries’ website at https://beedieluminaries.ca/spark-program/.