Community Support
91̽ fundraiser to light way for new childcare centre
October 18, 2023
Dress up with your kids, enjoy a matinee, then parade downtown Vernon with glow up lanterns and a stilt walker. An upcoming event aims to cast a glow on children’s faces while also lighting a path for a new childcare centre at 91̽’s Vernon campus. The 91̽ Foundation is hosting Glow UP: A Matinee, Masquerade and Lantern Light Up Saturday, Oct. 28. Participants can make their own lanterns at an upcoming workshop hosted by local artists at 91̽ Saturday, Oct. 21 between 10 a.m. and 2...
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91̽ student chefs supporting community
August 25, 2023
You can call it cooking with love. Students from the Okanagan Chef School at 91̽ dropped plans this week for a final feast to celebrate the end of their program and jumped into supporting the local emergency response instead. Typically, students at the Okanagan Chef School host a community dinner at the end of their year and one was planned for this week. However, when the event had to be cancelled due to the area wildfires, the students decided to shift their focus to preparing meals for those engaged in the r...
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91̽ community steps up to support wildfire efforts
August 24, 2023
The 91̽ community has been busy this week, stepping up to support wildfire efforts in their communities and supporting friends, family and neighbours in many different ways. The cancellation of this week’s Connections event at 91̽, an event led by employees to kick off a new school year, meant some timely donations of lunches and snacks went out to people who are supporting the wildfire efforts in the Okanagan Valley. It was just one example of the many efforts the 91̽ community has undertaken in their communities...
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$40,000 gift creates lasting tribute to former Okanagan University College Professor Dr. Sylvia Janet Russell
June 27, 2023
In her twenty-year tenure as a history professor at Okanagan University College (the predecessor to 91̽), Dr. Sylvia Janet Russell breathed life into bustling classrooms, transforming them into vibrant hubs of knowledge and inspiration. Now in a fitting tribute to her legacy, an anonymous $40,000 gift will establish a bursary fund in her honour. The Dr. Sylvia Janet Russell Memorial Fund will provide bursaries to students who have fulfilled the graduation requirements for 91̽’s Associate of Arts diploma - ...
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Plant a Seed Day fundraiser sprouts an impressive $66,000 in gifts for the new Sunflower Childcare Centre on 91̽'s Vernon Campus
May 17, 2023
91̽ Foundation is thrilled to announce the success of Plant a Seed Day, a fun-filled, family-friendly fundraiser that, thanks to generous community support, raised $66,000 for the Sunflower Childcare Centre. The funds will be put towards equipment, furnishings, supplies, and a creative outdoor space where kids can learn and play. Event guests had the opportunity to experience child-led yoga, sunflower-themed art classes, country line dancing, and a delicious lemonade crawl – all made possible thanks to generous sponsor...
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Sowing the seeds for a better future for student parents in Vernon
April 28, 2023
College Foundation hosts fundraiser for new Sunflower Childcare Centre Sunflowers blooming, the promise of new beginnings, and brighter futures for student parents in Vernon will be the focus of 91̽ Foundation’s upcoming Plant a Seed Day Fundraiser. The fun-filled event will take place on May 10, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. and will support the new, affordable, 44-seat on-campus Sunflower Childcare Centre, operated by local, non-profit childcare provider Maven Lane. Guests will be invited to “tap into their inne...
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Bridging the way to success: Emil Anderson Construction gives $75,000 to modernize 91̽’s Civil Engineering Technology Program
April 17, 2023
If you walk past 91̽’s Kelowna campus on a weekday afternoon, you’re sure to see Civil Engineering Technology students spread out across the grounds, gathering environmental data using surveying equipment. This skill is essential to their education and will one day help them shape our built environments. Thanks to a generous $75,000 gift from Emil Anderson Construction, students will have increased access to state-of-the-art surveying equipment to train on by fall of 2023. “We are proud to support 91̽’s Ci...
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Inspire at 91̽ Revelstoke: Volunteer to Tutor
April 4, 2023
One of the ongoing programs the Revelstoke Centre of 91̽ is proud to continuously offer is the Volunteer Literacy Tutoring program. Melissa Jameson, a resident of Revelstoke since 2007 whom some may recognize from her work at Community Connections, or more recently the civic affairs reporter for the Revelstoke Mountaineer, has been the volunteer coordinator for the program since October 2022. Jameson has been struggling to match several learners with tutors and wonders if there is a misconception about what the tutor po...
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Ready, Set, Grow! 91̽ Foundation kicks off its Sunflower Childcare Centre Campaign with an inspiring event at the Vernon Campus
March 15, 2023
Enthusiastic young volunteers led games and activities at the launch of 91̽ Foundation’s $1.25 million campaign in support of a new on-campus childcare centre, planned to open in the fall of 2024. Held on Mar. 1 at 91̽’s Vernon campus, the event drew 65 guests and celebrated the kickoff of the Sunflower Childcare Centre fundraising campaign. Donor and former College instructor Lloyd Davies spoke about his family’s decision to contribute $500,000 to the cause. "Time and again, I would have students missing class, ...
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Understanding Ableism: Join us for an Anti-Ableism presentation by Spring Hawes at 91̽ Kelowna on Jan. 19
January 13, 2023
A group of 91̽ students and employees are further advancing conversation and action around anti-ableism and accessibility at 91̽ this winter through an upcoming talk and series of follow-up events. 91̽ Kelowna’s Accessibility Alliance invites the 91̽ community to attend an anti-ableism presentation by entrepreneur and advocate Spring Hawes on January 19 from noon -2:30 p.m. in the Centre for Learning Atrium (E Building). In her presentation Hawes will...
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Prospera gives big in support of Women in Trades at 91̽
November 28, 2022
More women will get a chance to lace up their work boots and take the first step in a career in trades, thanks to a recent $79,660 gift from Prospera to a program at 91̽ that has already trained over 1,300 women since it was founded. The Women in Trades Training program was created to remove barriers for women interested in pursuing trades education and help meet the community’s surging need for skilled trades professionals. “These bursaries and added equipment provide opportunities for women to pursue t...
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Thorpe and Friends Scholarship recognizes two 91̽ students
October 26, 2022
Local students say the generosity of two prominent Penticton philanthropists is helping them take the next steps in their education. Since 2006, former MLA Rick Thorpe and his wife Yasmin John-Thorpe, along with their friends, have given more than $160,000 in scholarships to students in need at 91̽’s Penticton Campus. Two of this year’s recipients, Wylie Rowan and Mattias Van Bergeyk, received $2,500 to put toward their education. Both students are Summerland Secondary School grads in their first year of studie...
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Throat-singing duo PIQSIQ to perform at 91̽'s Penticton campus
October 18, 2022
91̽ joins forces with Route97 Culture to present fast-rising throat singing duo – PIQSIQ in Penticton Live music will return to 91̽'s Penticton campus this November 4, 2022, for students and music fans alike. In collaboration with the Route97 Culture Road Trip series, 91̽ will co-present the debut of PIQSIQ in the region, who will perform a special concert inside the LEED Platinum-certified building known as the Centre of Excellence in Room 113. You can buy tickets for the show here. With a s...
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TD gives $85,000 to help kids and newcomers access 91̽’s Indigenous Garden
October 18, 2022
Hawthorn, wolf willow, and sage are among the traditional plants growing in the garden on the hillside at 91̽’s Vernon campus, which this year was visited by more than 250 local school children, thanks to generous support from TD Bank Group. TD’s gift, made earlier in 2022, is funding tours of the K'nmaĺka Senqâĺten - Kalamalka Indigenous garden for children and newcomers to Canada. The garden is located on 91̽’s Vernon campus. 91̽ has already received a portion of the funding; the remainder...
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Kelowna mayoral candidates invited to public debate hosted by 91̽, UBC Okanagan
September 20, 2022
Mayoral candidates in Kelowna will speak specifically to issues that matter to university and college students at an on-campus debate at the end of September. 91̽ and UBC Okanagan have teamed up to host the event, which will be moderated by CBC Radio host Sarah Penton at 91̽’s lecture theatre on K.L.O. Road. “We are thrilled to be welcoming the candidates, students and the community onto our campus, to hear from the individuals running to be the next mayor of Kelowna,” says Dr. Neil Fassina, president, Okanagan Colle...
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91̽ alumna gives back with bursary for high school grads
June 22, 2022
91̽ alumna Erum Ahmad has been spending her time teaching Vernon high school students how to be smart with their money. Now, she is giving one of those students a chance to put their learnings into action by creating a bursary to fund the next steps of their educational journey. Erum, who graduated from 91̽ in 2021, found a passion in sharing financial literacy with high school students after experiencing a lack of financial training herself. “When I was in grade 10, I realized there were no classes to ...
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