Each year, the Chilliwack Foundation provides a number of scholarships to secondary and post-secondary students in the Chilliwack area. The deadline for the submission of scholarship applications to the Chilliwack Foundation is aligned with the deadline dates of the Chilliwack School District.
The Scholarship Committee of the Chilliwack Foundation meets to review all scholarship applications and select the students to receive the scholarships shortly after the deadline for applications each year.
All of the scholarships provided by the Chilliwack Foundation are paid out of the income generated on the following scholarship funds held in trust by the Chilliwack Foundation:
These scholarships are granted to top academic students with distinguished secondary school careers.
En route to an event in the Okanagan, their airplane crashed and both young women were killed. The District of Chilliwack established this award fund to honour their memory and to reward graduating students with an exemplary history of community service and a good academic standing.
Born and raised in Chilliwack, Carmen loved and excelled at all sports. She was inducted into the Sardis Secondary School Hall of Fame and, in 1985, was named Chilliwack’s Athlete of the Year.
Following graduation in 1986, Carmen earned a B.Sc. from the University of Victoria where she was also a valued member of the University of Victoria Vikes, the Women’s Field Hockey Team which won the Jr. National Championship twice. She was also a member of the Canadian National Women’s Field Hockey Team and participated in many tournaments including the World Cup Field Hockey Games.
Following her time at UVIC, Carmen continued her education, earning a Physical Therapy degree from McMaster University, a MSc. from McGill University and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah in Rehabilitation Science with an emphasis in epidemiology.
Dr. Carmen Kirkness was employed at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, as a Professor of Medicine and Assistant Director of the Centre for Outcomes Research.
Throughout her life, Carmen continued to participate in snow skiing, water skiing, swimming, golf, tennis, running, dirt biking and boating. It is only fitting that the recipient of this scholarship should be a like-minded female athlete.
This annual award of $2,000 will be presented to the top female athlete at Sardis Secondary School.
Examples of Performing Arts would be: Music, Theatre, Musical Theatre, Opera, Dance, Circus, Mime, and Puppetry.
This fund was established in 1990 by Maxwell and Gail Newby, in memory of Chilliwack Dentist, Dr. “Tony” Newby, who passed away in 1985. Each year the award is given to a male and a female graduating student of Sardis Secondary School with strong academic skills, leadership abilities and athletic participation.
To escape Nazi persecution and restriction of practice, in 1937, with her husband and two children, she emigrated to Canada. In 2002, Dr. Anne Sussel died at the age of 101.
To encourage other young women to seek a career in the health sciences, her son, Dr. Walter Sussel, established this scholarship in her honour.
The Dr. Anne Sussel Science Scholarship was established with the Foundation by the Sussel family to provide two scholarships; one to Chilliwack Secondary School and one to Sardis Secondary School in Chilliwack.
At each of these schools, these awards go to the top female science student going on to a post-secondary degree in the health sciences. No application is necessary for this scholarship as recipients are chosen by their respective schools.
Like other Farmer’s Institutes of the day, members served to provide knowledge and support to other farmers, as well as to improve the general growth and development of their community. Beyond Institute meetings, the historic Atchelitz Hall is a testament to the impact the Atchelitz Farmers Institute has had in Chilliwack; with countless events, celebrations, clubs, and concerts occurring within its walls. The Hall’s surrounding grounds have been used by copious sports teams and continue to house the Ecole la Verendrye.
At one time, membership of the Atchelitz Farmers Institute numbered 125 but with changing times and interests, the remaining 7 members were unable to maintain the hall and grounds. Having gifted the Atchelitz Hall and property to the city in October 2021, all that was left was to gift the remaining funds held on deposit.
In January 2022, the Atchelitz Farmers Institute officially disbanded and donated $89,000.00 to the Chilliwack Foundation. $39,000.00 of this amount will be used to provide grants to Chilliwack Non-Profit Organizations.
$50,000.00 will be used to create the Atchelitz Farmers Institute Scholarship Fund which will provide two scholarships to graduating students from School District #33 and local Christian Schools pursuing post-secondary education in Agriculture or Horticulture.
It is only fitting that Atchelitz Farmers Institute Scholarships will serve to continue the history of the Institute and provide a legacy to future farmers in our community
