KPU receives $890,000 in donations for establishing new awards and scholarships

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Two large donations from the estate of Evelyn Oberg and the Pieter de Reuver Foundation will establish new scholarships and bursaries for students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. 

The donations, totalling $890,000, will go toward helping students studying sustainable agriculture, horticulture, trades, technology, and health. 

“I hear students say all the time, ‘It’s kind of like wind beneath my wings, it was more than just the money. It was the thought of someone believing me and wanting to invest in me,’” says Randall Heidt, CEO of the KPU Foundation and KPU’s vice-president of external affairs. 

“To have these amazing donors invest in their future, without even knowing them, it just shows what incredible people donors are.” 

The estate of Evelyn Oberg donated $650,000 to KPU, which is being invested in an endowment fund. The donation will provide 15 annual awards of $2,000 to horticulture and sustainable agriculture students in financial need. 

Anyone enrolled in a horticulture or sustainable agriculture program is eligible to apply through KPU’s office of student awards and financial assistance. 

Oberg, who had a passion for plants and animals, was a longtime Langley resident and friend of KPU’s horticulture school. 

“Oberg was really interested in sustainable agriculture and horticulture,” Heidt says. 

“Having her carry that on is so important because we saw with COVID how important food sustainability is and local food supply, so her donation is really going to help the next generation of students improve local food sustainability.” 

KPU was also gifted $240,000 from Vancouver Island philanthropist Pieter de Reuver Foundation to put towards scholarships and bursaries for students enrolling in trades, technology, and health programs over the next three years. 

“There’s a big shortage in [these areas] .… Right now, we need tradesmen, we need people to build houses, we need carpenters, we need electricians,” de Reuver says.

“You hear constantly [of] emergency rooms closing … so we need nurses, we need doctors, we need all [these kinds] of people for filling up the system.” 

The funds will go toward 24 annual $2,500 Pieter de Reuver Foundation bursaries and eight annual $2,500 Pieter de Reuver Foundation scholarships. 

Preference for these will be given to students who are from Vancouver Island, self-identify as Indigenous, have been in foster care or the care of the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development, persons with disabilities, and have an academic achievement of B+ or higher.

What started as a tax incentive has turned into a 20-year-long legacy of donating to community organizations, colleges, and universities. De Reuver’s passion for supporting society through education has been felt at institutions across Vancouver Island, and now with KPU in the Lower Mainland.  

“I have always been interested in education .… All kinds of [education] is important to me because I think that’s [how] we get forward in society. The more we know, the more we can do,” de Reuver says. 

De Reuver, 92, has donated more than $1.5 million since establishing the foundation in 2004. He came to donate to KPU through a previous working relationship with Heidt at North Island College.

Heidt urges students to apply for these awards, and says thousands of dollars in scholarships go unawarded each year because no one applied. 

“There’s probably $50,000 or more that goes unapplied for every year,” Heidt says.

“Just apply. We have a pretty great system that allows you to apply to several awards at the same time, so … put yourself out there and apply. You might receive help that you never thought you might otherwise.” 

For more information about the awards offered through KPU, visit kpu.ca/awards or contact finaid@kpu.ca.