CommUNITY

DR. ALAN DAVIS, PRESIDENT AND VICE CHANCELLOR, JINNY HWANG, ARTIST, AND JAYA DHILLON, GIVING TUESDAY CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR, PICTURED WITH THE ARTWORK FRAMED IN THE LIBRARY ON THE SURREY MAIN CAMPUS.

KPU GIVING TUESDAY MOSAIC (2021) MIN JIN (JINNY) HWANG

KPU’s second annual Giving Tuesday campaign on Nov. 30, 2021, celebrated the rich diversity of the student population of our university, raising muchneeded funds to support students who come from a range of backgrounds and lived experiences. These are students who may have faced extra barriers in pursuing their educational dreams due to systemic racism and other challenges as people of colour, members of the LGBTQ2+ community, mature students and/or students with disabilities.

Representing how every individual within our KPU community is unique, and yet contributes to the overall picture in a beautiful, multi-faceted way, KPU fine arts student Min Jin (Jinny) Hwang provided an original mosaic artwork that was used to represent the impact of donor support for our diverse student population. As the campaign developed and gifts were committed, the artwork took shape and became the overall picture of a healthy and thriving ecosystem. The campaign raised $148,519, which will support more than 148 students from diverse backgrounds in the coming years. The KPU Alumni Association was once again a key supporter, adding $5,000 to its endowment this year. The following donors made special commitments for Giving Tuesday last year: » The Kwantlen Student Association partnered with faculty and staff in the Faculty of Arts to establish four new student award endowments for diversity students. » Randall Heidt established two new annual $1,000 awards over the next five years after his challenge to the community to share social media posts about Giving Tuesday was met and exceeded. » Native Northwest contributed $5,000 to establish the Native Northwest Reconciliation Fund Award.

» Once again, Professor Emeritus Chamkaur Cheema challenged

ENTR grads to participate and matched their donations up to $2,500. » KPU alumna Preet Bal funded a new bursary over the next five years for mature students in Environmental Protection Technology. » Former KPU Chancellor Dr. Arvinder Bubber and his son, KPU

Foundation director Vikram Bubber, each contributed $5,000+ to support the campaign. » Dr. Weidong Yu, Wellspring Charitable Foundation, contributed $5,000 to complete a building endowment that will support bursaries in KPU’s Traditional Chinese Medicine program.

If you missed Giving Tuesday and want to support KPU students, please visit give.kpu.ca/givingtuesday to make your Giving Tuesday gift any time this year. The next KPU Giving Tuesday Campaign will be on Nov. 29, 2022. We look forward to more and more alumni giving back to support the students who follow in your footsteps!