Yvon Charest Bursaries

Two bursaries of $5,000 for children of iA Financial Group employees

The bursaries were presented to you in 2019, in honour of our former president and CEO, who helped build the major, forward-looking company that iA Financial Group has become.

What dream or project would your child make a reality with $5,000?

Ten submissions have been selected and are now being presented to all employees of iA Financial Group, for them to evaluate each submission. These proposals were submitted from Ontario, Alberta, Quebec and New Mexico!

Two bursaries of $5,000 will be awarded to: one child 15 and under and one child 16 and older (no age limit).

Process

  • January 28 to February 28th

    Submission period

  • March 2 to 18

    The committee, made up of employees from Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Quebec, has chosen 10 submissions (5 per category) from those received. Committee members did not see the employee’s name, the child’s name or where they’re from, to guarantee transparency.

  • March 18 to April 20

    Employees are asked to evaluate the submissions

  • April 27

    Announcement of the recipients

Eligibility criteria

  • One submission per child
  • The child’s parent must be a permanent, temporary or contract employee of iA Financial Group or a Career network advisor
  • The employee must be active when the bursary is awarded, if applicable
  • The bursary must be used for the submitted project or dream no later than December 31, 2021

Now it’s your turn

Please score the following 10 submissions on a scale of 1 star to 5 stars (1 for less inspiring, 5 for the most inspiring).

Note that you can give the same score to more than one submission.

Make sure you fill out your personal information and click on the button “Submit” at the bottom of this page.

Finalists in the age 15 and under category

BE A DOWNHILL CHAMPION!

Age : 12 years old

I am a member of the Sommet Saint-Sauveur competition team. The coaching team tells me that I have a lot of potential, and I’ve already made it onto many podiums over the years.

I love skiing, which I’ve been doing for many years, and my greatest dream would be to go to Kicking Horse in British Columbia for a week of downhill training. Because the cost is so high for a week like that, $5000 would go a long way toward helping me pay for transportation, accommodation and the skills development course.

I hope with all my heart that you can help me make my greatest dream a reality. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to participate in the next Olympic Games thanks to this initiative.

Life dream- AAA Hockey in France

Age : 7 years old

Hello,

Our son is dyslexic and reading and writing for him has been a lifelong battle.

It is so hard to see him like this, he has to struggle against his anger and his sadness because of his dyslexia and he sometimes cries tears of frustration because of his condition. Our hearts break every time he compares himself to others. However, he is so quick and intelligent, so sweet and empathetic. We are convinced from the bottom of our hearts that he has a fulfilling life ahead of him on the other side of this storm.

We’re proud to be the parents of this little boy with huge determination.

His escape is on the ice with his friends. The wonderful life dream he has chosen is an AAA hockey camp in France. It brings stars to his eyes thinking about it.

 

Compete at Yale University for WSC!

Age : 11 years old

My biggest dream for 2020 is to compete in the World Scholar's Cup (WSC). The Cup is a large gathering of youths from all around the world, who take part in various competitions together, including Scholar's Bowl, Collaborative Writing, Scholar's Challenge and Team Debate. I am certainly feeling confident about this whole thing as we have already formed teams and started working vigorously on preparation for everything. My school has already won the championship once in 2019, and I wouldn't want that to be a one-time thing. The bursary will help me achieve this dream because the competition is first in Calgary (Regional Round - April), then in Vancouver (Global Round - July), and finally, Yale University (Tournament of Champions - November). If I am able to cover travel and living costs for all of the out-of-province competitions, I will have completed half the challenge and it will obviously be beneficial for everyone in my team and our chances of winning will increase drastically. 

Start piano lessons again

Age : 14 years old

My son had to stop his piano lessons 8 months ago, because the old piano he was practising on could not be tuned or fixed. Eric was very good at it and he learned how to play Beethoven, Mozart, Shostakovich and other composers. We can't afford a replacement and this prize would help him to get a new or second-hand piano and start the piano lessons again. As a thank you, he would send a mini recital video for all iA employees to watch how he practises and plays on the new piano.

Cure my sister

Age : 11 years old

Hello, for me it’s pretty easy, if I had $5000 that fell from the sky, I would give the money right away to people doing scientific research to find a medication that could cure my sister, who has a very rare and very weird disease. Because of this genetic disease, my sister’s muscles turn into bone and that prevents her from moving her arms and legs like everyone else. When we were little, it wasn’t like this. But the older she gets, the more the fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva prevents her from being able to do what she wants to do. Also, the doctors can’t even operate because that makes things worse. She can’t even get vaccines or anything that affects her muscles too much without them ossifying even more. There is a lot of research happening right now to find a cure for her and the other 900 people in the world who have this disease. I want her to be able to live like everyone else and like me. I love my sister!

Finalists in the age 16+ category

Broken dreams – Returning to studies

Age : 20 years old

Kevin is a brilliant young man whose dreams evaporated after his third concussion playing soccer. His goal was to go to Harvard (Law), and he had even visited the university and had potential. However, he had to put his high school studies on hold for a few months and was monitored at the IRDPQ physical rehabilitation facility. After that, nothing was like it was before, his ambition had completely faded. He even stopped his Cégep studies to focus on work (which was easier for him than school). After a break, he has just started studying again, at university, as an adult. However, he has to keep working to pay his tuition fees while being enrolled in full-time courses. A financial helping hand would allow him to focus on his studies or at least to slow down his work (and make sure he doesn’t burn himself out). His cognitive abilities have returned, but not to the same level as before, and this help could be a big encouragement.

En route to the World Championships

Age : 19 years old

My name is Roxanne and I’m 19 years old. My goal: to represent Canada at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris in mountain biking. It is a long and difficult road to get there. For a North American living in a northern area that often means having to go to Europe to train and get exposed to international calibre. I made my debut on the international circuit in 2019 when I participated in my first World Cup. It was a huge moment for me, rubbing shoulders with the best in the world. I am more motivated than ever. I’m also following in the footsteps of my father, who competed in the international circuit for a long time. In 2020, my ultimate goal is to qualify for the World Championships in Germany, and to reach the top 20. To raise the money, I am working part time and I sell paintings inspired by my love of the sport. This bursary would be a huge help in covering part of the cost for all my trips.

Obtain a Biology Major

Age : 18 years old

It is my greatest hope that I can dedicate myself to Ornithology (the study of birds). Though as it stands I could sort members of Galloanserae from Neoaves blindfolded, in order to fulfill this dream in a meaningful way I need to obtain a biology major with concentration in animal sciences so that one day I can make my living in this field. In order to take this step, I have had to work quite hard to obtain even some of the money necessary to pay for the wildly inflated tuition that universities insists on, a $5,000 bursary would be invaluable in shouldering this burden.

Masters Degree in Social Work

Age : 25 years old

The bursary funds would greatly benefit my dream of completing graduate school to earn my master’s degree in social work. I have a large desire to help make my community a better place and I'd like my work to focus on children and youth. I believe if you help children through their hardships it can positively impact their future by providing them with the tools to cope with the hardships that come with life. Through graduate school I want to learn the skills to teach children and families what healthy relationships consist of. My ultimate goal is to provide psychotherapy for children, youth and families as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and the first step in making my dream a reality, is obtaining my master’s degree. I am proud to say that I worked hard and am currently enrolled in a graduate program. Graduate school has proven to be an expense I can't afford, so the bursary funds would help me pay for school and not accumulate even more student loan debt than I already have.  

Camp “Follow your Heart”

Age : 22 years old

Hello, my name is Olivier and I am a student in medicine at Université Laval. I’m currently involved in research with a pediatric cardiac surgeon who gave me the wonderful idea to implement a project which has already been realized in another province: a day camp supervised by health care professionals for children born with heart problems. The goal of this initiative is to allow these children to have a normal day camp experience for a full weekend and to socialize with other children in the same situation as them. They would have the chance to have fun and develop their independence within a safe environment, and they’d get to experience the typical activities of a real day camp. This $5000 bursary would help me cover part of the costs involved in making this weekend day camp a reality, and an unforgettable experience for children and their parents.

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