New Scholarship Fund in Manitoba Rewards Volunteer Hours Over Academics
For most of us, getting a good academic scholarship meant getting good grades. And not just good grades – the best grades. The A+S required hours of diligent studying and the resilience to overcome struggles to comprehend. It required elite memorizing and test-taking skills – skills that many of us don’t possess.
Scholarships for the rest of us are always welcomed, especially for those of us who aren’t particularly athletic. This past summer, a scholarship was created for students in Manitoba that rewards and attempts to incentivize volunteerism and community service. The Clinton Orr & Jodi Ruta Community Builder Fund will award two $4,000 scholarships each year to students who meet a specific set of metrics related to both the quantity and quality of their service in the community. If you clean up the park, it counts – but if you create a group that organizes park cleanups, it counts more.
The scholarship is being administered by the Brokenhead River Community Foundation, a non-profit providing charitable support to civic projects. Orr and Ruta are both longtime residents of Beausejour, about an hour and a half northeast of Winnipeg. Their donation of $202,000 was BRCF’s largest one-time donation to establish a new endowment fund.
Our goal is to encourage kids to get involved in their local organizations, to give back, and to connect with their community,
Orr explained, We believe when kids engage in community service, they can cultivate empathy, strengthen social bonds, and develop valuable skills, all while having a positive impact on their neighborhood.
Ruta believes there’s a transformative power when students contribute something meaningful to a good cause.
My family has always been big into supporting our community. I have seen the positive impacts that it makes not only on the community but also on those who are volunteering. We are making this donation to hopefully promote more young people to get involved in the community.
BRCF president Reg Black also believes the scholarship will have a unique and lasting effect on those who strive to win it.
The impact it will have for local students, forever, will be life-changing.
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The Clinton Orr and Jodi Ruta Community Builder Fund is available to graduating students in the École Edward Schreyer School catchment area. The first awards will be given to students from the Class of 2025.
We’re excited to create an award that is truly open to everyone, and can be won only by putting in the right kind of effort, says Orr.
Academic achievement is a factor – it will help to be in the top half of your class. But it’s not about grades. It’s about dedication and initiative.
There are many skills that are not properly cultivated or appreciated by the school systems. Skills like creativity, leadership, and heart. Orr and Ruta’s fund will hopefully inspire others like it – ones that give a boost to those who earn it in other ways.
