Funds Are Supporting Lanark County Students

Funds Are Supporting Lanark County Students - theHumm December 2024

The board members of the Elizabeth Kelly Foundation (EKF) are pleased to announce two programs they have funded to benefit students In Lanark County. One is a new bursary program for high school students heading to college or university, and the other is an ongoing grant program which provides STEM learning for young people at all Lanark libraries.

The Bursary Program

It began in the spring of 2024 as a pilot program that granted bursaries to two high school graduates at each of the three high schools in Almonte and Carleton Place. The bursaries covered 50% of the tuition and tuition-related fees for the first year of the successful student’s post-secondary education. The total granted exceeded $15,000. Next year EKF will revise the pilot program and expand it to offer bursaries to two students at each of Lanark’s seven high schools.

The bursaries will be awarded to students who have been accepted at a college or university and who are chosen by the EKF board members from a list of students recommended by the guidance staff at their high schools. The guidance staff will be asked to recommend students whose marks, motivation and personal circumstances support the award of a bursary. Congratulations to the six students in Almonte and Carleton Place, who were awarded bursaries at their graduation ceremonies last spring!

For information and to apply for an EKF bursary for the spring of 2025, please contact the guidance staff at your high school.

EKF’s other bursary initiatives, which also benefit Lanark county students, include support for the Cliff Bennett Bursary offered by the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists, and the Elizabeth Kelly Foundation bursary at Algonquin College.

The STEM Grant Program

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Four years ago, STEM programs were initially offered at the library in Almonte as a pilot project funded by a $20,000 grant from EKF. After two years the program was expanded, and it is now offered at all the libraries in Lanark County. EKF has continued to provide annual grants of $10,000 so that the total granted to date exceeds $60,000. One year ago, Lanark County matched EKF’s annual contribution.

This year, the following free programs for children aged 8 to 14 were offered at Lanark’s five libraries:

LEGO spike robotics: 40 participants in five sessions (one at each library) in March 2024

LEGO spike robotics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality: 320 participants in 40 sessions across all five libraries in the summer of 2024

LEGO sumobot league: 40 participants in 25 sessions. Teams from all five libraries in the fall of 2024

The funding also covered the cost of training two new STEM instructors last summer.

For information about future STEM programs, and to register, please contact your neighbourhood library.

A Concert of Strumming, Singing & Fluting
A Musical Adventure for Children - theHumm December 2024

Attention families and music lovers! Get ready for a musical adventure that will have children wiggling, clapping, and discovering the magical world of flutes, guitars and songs at the second Friends of the Mississippi Mills Public Library annual Live! @ the Library family concert.

On Sunday, December 1 at 2:30pm, the Almonte Branch of the Mississippi Mills Public Library will transform into a vibrant musical playground. Renowned flutist and singer Gertrude Létourneau will be joined by Otta......

Funds Are Supporting Lanark County Students - theHumm December 2024