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A Letter from a Keith Gilmore Scholarshipp Recipient - 13 years later To Whom It May Concern: While researching grant opportunities for the national charity I founded, and am now CEO, I came across ‘The Keith Gilmore Foundation’. I didn’t realize you were based in Calgary - as too, now, am I. It’s been 13 years since I received the Keith Gilmore Foundation scholarship. At the time, I was a 2nd year agriculture student at the University of Manitoba. I wish I could tell you how much that grant helped me... in ways I didn’t expect. Following receipt of the grant, I became one of the youngest students to enter the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. To be honest, I’m not where I expected to be, over a decade ago. Then, I figured I’d get into vet school, meet someone, settled down on some cattle farm in Saskatchewan and live happily ever after. :) But my life took a few detours... I made a national team, left Vet School to become Canada’s first professional inline speed skater... broke a world record... fractured my skull in a really awful skating crash... faced and have (somewhat) dealt with some major mental health issues... and founded the first charity in Canada focused on the prevention of eating disorders and self-harm in youth. While I’m no longer in the agricultural sector (albeit still with a passion for cattle - I’ve been known to stop a car while driving down the highway merely to better identify whatever beast standing in the field is clearly not a Hereford, Angus, or Holstein!), I still think fondly of the Keith Gilmore Foundation. Yours was the first scholarship I received at a time I was, really, struggling. On the outside, I looked like the student who had everything going for her... but I was dealing with a major history of abuse and hiding an eating disorder that nearly killed me... a few times. It really meant a lot to me, to receive the K.G. Scholarship when I did - a vote of confidence, in my ability, at a time I desperately needed someone to tell me I had some worth. Although I’m probably not the expected ‘successful outcome’ of the K.G. Scholarship (I believe my application had something to do about my then-desire to become a swine vet... sorry to disappoint), but I count the K.G. Scholarship as one of the key reasons I’m now alive. The year I received your support was one of the worst of my life. I honestly don’t think I would be here, if I hadn’t your support to leave Winnipeg (and the abuse I suffered since childhood). While in the Faculty of Ag., I learned a lot about nurturing roots and shoots, the importance of good soil, and a healthy environment to provide a viable outcome. I hope you find it fitting that I now tend ‘roots’ of a different sort. Part of my job now is to go into schools and talk with kids (and teach parents)... in short, working at making their environment the best I can, so our youth can flourish and grow strong. Like a critical ray of sunlight, or a drop of water on a parched root, I’m living proof that all it takes is one person (or a scholarship selection committee) to make all the difference in the world.
Thank you, for your support. Sincerely Meaghan Buisson Founder and CEO, BodyWhys Youth Canada BodyWhys Youth Canada is a National Charity focused solely on preventing eating disorders and self-harm in youth.
Let us know what you think By email: brad@hereford.ca or mail us a letter at the CHA office: 5160 Skyline Way NE, Calgary, AB T2E 6V1 Phone: 1-888-836-7242 Fax: 1-888-824-2329 24