Donor Stories

The following words were written by Vivian Crompton to honour her son, Travis, who along with his sister Amber, died tragically in an automobile accident in 2007. Vivian and her husband, Len, have established a Memorial Scholarship at Boissevain High School to honour Amber and,through the Brandon Area Community Foundation, have established the Travis Crompton Memorial Scholarship at the Manitoba Emergency Services College in Brandon.

The Travis Crompton Memorial Scholarship will be awarded annually to the recipient who possesses qualities and traits similar to Travis and his aspirations to become a firefighter.

In 2003, at the age of 15, Caitlin Arksey was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma. She completed 18 rounds of intense chemotherapy, as well as a major Van Ness surgery to her right leg. With the use of a complex prosthesis, she regained her ability to walk and even to play school sports. After graduating with honours, she entered Brandon University to pursue her dream of becoming a pharmacist. But cancer returned to her lungs, and she again underwent surgery to remove the tumour. Then, a new cancer resulted in yet another surgery – this time, the disease spread to other parts of her body, and Caitlin lost her battle on March 21, 2009.

Caitlin was a charismatic young lady with many friends and acquaintances. Throughout her determined and courageous fight with cancer, she constantly thought of the well-being of others around her. She was fearless in her struggle, never pausing to ask, “Why me?” She was truly an inspiration for those around her, showing her dedication as a daughter, sister, granddaughter and friend; she had a smile for everyone. Caitlin will be missed by all those who knew her, and her brave story may inspire those who did not have that good fortune.

To honour Caitlin’s courage and spirit, her family established The Caitlin Arksey Fund. Contributions by family and friends have made it possible to provide grants that provide meaningful and relatively barrier-free assistance to families at the time of the patient’s treatment.

The Brandon and Area Community Foundation received an amazing gift from Gord and Diane Peters. Their $1 million dollar contribution pledge made to BACF is a generous gift to the Foundation and to our community. The Peters’ contribution will be in the form of shares they personally own in Cando Contracting Ltd., the company that Gord co-founded in 1978. Their initial contribution of $500,000 was made in December 2008 and that donation will be followed up with additional commitments of $250,000 in 2009 and 2010.

Cando is an employee owned company that celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2008. It currently employs in excess of 270 people at over a dozen fixed locations across North America and whose head office is located in Brandon MB. Gord and Diane are very thankful for all the hard work and dedication that the Cando team has put into the company to make it into the success it is today. Cando and its employees have always been generous with their resources in whatever community they worked in. The company has introduced many innovative ideas such as an Employee Ownership Program in 1996 to make sure that all team members have an opportunity to share in Cando’s overall success. For Gord and Diane, giving is a very direct way to share their business success with their community. The Peters are long time residents of Brandon but are very proud of their rural Manitoba roots. Both came from families and communities that believed in the spirit of “giving back”. The BACF’s commitment to Southwestern Manitoba parallels the Peters’ desire to enhance their personal philanthropic goals.

“A tremendous amount of Brandon’s wealth is in private business. We hope that this innovative donation from Gord and Diane can be a model and catalyst for other business owners,” said BACF Chair Keay Dobson- Golletz. “The amount, timing and creativity of Gord and Diane’s gift will be felt throughout the community and we are extremely grateful for their generosity.”

Elsie Taylor Scholarship
This scholarship honours the life of Elsie Taylor as well as her dedication to teaching and strong belief in higher education. Mrs. Taylor was born in Ontario in 1898 and, along with her family, came to make Rapid City, Manitoba her home in 1906. Educated and designated for her teaching profession at the age of 21, Elsie took the first of her many school assignments at the Robinville School. Subsequent years saw her posted to the Laurendale, Nedrob, Langruth, Vista, Scandinavia and other area schools. She took a hiatus from teaching in 1932 when her children came along but returned to it in 1953 at the McCreary School. Coming full circle, Mrs. Taylor concluded her career where she herself had been educated, in her home town of Rapid City.

To ensure that future generations from her home district would have the same educational opportunities, Jim and Elly Taylor established the Elsie Taylor Memorial Scholarship awarded annually to a student at Elton Collegiate who demonstrates a strong work ethic and diligence toward career potential.

Remembering Mrs. Purdie
Dr. Frank Purdie is once more helping to make a difference to this community all the while honouring the memory of his late wife, Gwyneth (to whom he always refers affectionately to as “Mrs. Purdie”). Beginning in the fall of 2006, the Gwyneth Purdie Memorial Literacy Fund will benefit early years students at King George School in Brandon. This program will provide quality literature for the library, which will encourage young readers to read and enjoy more books. It will also provide resource support for the early years teachers as they guide the students through the curriculum.

Dr. Purdie’s parents instilled in him the importance of supporting the community in which you live and work as well as a sense of obligation to give a “hand up” whenever possible. Combining those values with Mrs. Purdie’s love of reading made the establishment of this endowment fund a perfect match.

Thanks to Dr. Purdie for his vision to establish this fund content in the knowledge that it will continue to Fund the Future…now and forever.