KPU’s Legacy Gala will raise funds to help students

🔊 Listen to Post

On April 29, the KPU Foundation will be hosting their first KPU Legacy Gala called Forward Together at the Guildford Sheraton hotel in Surrey. 

The KPU Foundation is a Kwantlen Polytechnic University organization devoted to raising for KPU students. 

The event will directly benefit current and future KPU students by raising funds for bursaries, scholarships, emergency grants, and the KSA Student Food Bank. It will also be a chance for the KPU Foundation to thank their sponsor members. 

“This new event will bring together a select gathering of alumni, university leaders, and members of our community who believe that education is critical to our collective social and economic well-being,” reads a statement on the event’s media release. 

With inflation and the rising cost of living, the gala aims to help lift financial burdens for students  

“We have seen a real increase in unmet need for student bursaries, which was about 2.5 million last year, and so we want to raise more money to support students more than ever before,” says Randall Heidt, CEO of the KPU Foundation. 

In the 2014 to 2015 school year, the unmet need for student bursaries was 5.7 million. 

“Then in 2019 and 2020, we saw it go up to about $11.8 million, which was a 108 per cent increase from 2014,” Heidt says. “It just keeps going up.” 

The gala will run various activities intended to raise funds for KPU students. 

“We are going to have raffle tickets where people can buy $40 raffle tickets for a chance to win $5,200 in Save On [Foods] gift cards. We are going to have a 50/50 draw, with half the proceeds going to the winner and half going to the foundation, and we are going to have silent auction items as well,” Heidt says. 

The gala will also feature live entertainment. The traditional Métis and contemporary dance company, V’ni Dansi, will be performing, and attendees can take part in learning how to Bhangra dance with an instructor from the Shan E Punjab Arts Club. 

Lekeyten, KPU’s Elder in Residence, will also be attending and speaking at the event. 

“There is a greater need than ever before to help students, and so a gala is a good way to raise awareness and [do] fundraising,” Heidt says. 

“We want to help further develop and grow that culture of philanthropy in KPU, as well as in communities that we serve,” he says. 

Heidt says the gala means alot to him and knows how important it is to support students during these difficult times. 

“Just having people believe in you and in the power of education, makes them feel so much better and feel like they are doing the right thing. These are great times for me to remember why we do what we do,” he says. 

“It is all about helping people, and I am so fortunate to have this job where I get to help people realize their educational career and life goals.” 

Tickets to attend the gala are still available to purchase on the KPU Foundation’s website, and KPU alumni can receive a $25 discount per seat.

For more information on the gala, visit their website or email foundation@kpu.ca.