On September 21st, Coast Capital hosted “An Evening of Community Celebration”, a virtual event to honour and thank our Charity Golf Tournament stakeholders. This event gave us an opportunity to say thank you and celebrate the positive impact we have made together to improve the mental health of British Columbians.
Watch the Video – Reflecting on the Coast Capital Annual Charity Golf Tournament
“An Evening of Community Celebration” was also an opportunity to share a snapshot of the many ways our organization invests in our communities. Coast Capital continues to pivot during COVID-19. Supporting our communities and members through this pandemic has been our focus over the last number of months. We want to do all we can to help minimize the financial impact of the pandemic on all of our members and communities.
Watch the Video – showcasing some of the ways Coast Capital has brought this work to life during a particularly challenging year.
Given the current state of our economy, we came together virtually this year rather than raising funds. This allowed us to re-purpose the funds traditionally set-aside to host our Annual Charity Golf Tournament towards empowering even more youth to achieve what’s important in their lives.
Too many young people, through no fault of their own, face significant hurdles, impeding their opportunity to create a strong financial future. The pandemic, which has had significant impacts on our economy, has been particularly hard on young people. The unemployment rate has risen from 10.3% in February to a monthly historical high of 29.4% in May.
The retail and hospitality industries, the two industries in which nearly half of youth work, have been significantly and negatively affected. And of course, most jobs that youth do cannot be done from home. Achieving a post-secondary education has never been more important in improving the employment prospects of youth.
For many years, Coast Capital has supported students through our Education Awards program. During the event, we were excited to announce the introduction of three new Standing Tall – Continuing Education Awards. Our objective in launching these awards is to acknowledge and continue our work together to help youth facing mental health challenges.
As we enter a new chapter for the Coast Capital Charity Golf Tournament, we felt that it would be fitting to honour two individuals and their families who have played instrumental roles in the tournament: Rudy Nielsen, one of the longest-standing supporters and Lloyd Craig, former Coast Capital president and CEO and founder of the Tournament.
Our two named Standing Tall- Continuing Education Awards are:
1. The Gavin H. Craig Award
In loving memory of Lloyd and Heather Craig’s son, Gavin. This annual bursary will be valued at $7,500 with a $5,000 contribution from Coast Capital and an additional generous $2,500 contribution from Lloyd and Heather Craig. We were thrilled to present the inaugural 2020 Gavin H. Craig award to: Erica C.
A little bit about Erica
Erica is a remarkable young woman who has demonstrated resilience while managing significant life challenges. She is to be commended for finding a way to balance completing her secondary school education and maintaining her mental health!
Erica has continued to grow, achieving an impressive GPA of 3.8 during her first year in the Bachelor’s of Business Administration Program at Capilano University.
She is planning to transfer to the UBC Sauder School of Business in 2021. Obtaining this award will make a huge difference in Erica’s future, allowing her full participation in this prestigious program. The financial burden and cost of the program is something that has been a major stressor, and we are happy to see Erica pursue her goals without this additional worry.
2. The Rudy Nielsen Award
A $5,000 award named in honour of Coast Capital’s enduring friendship and one of the longest-standing supporters of the Charity Golf Tournament, Rudy Nielsen – Founder and President of Landcor Data Corporation. We are thrilled to announce Aliya C as the recipient of the 2020 Rudy Nielsen Award.
A little bit about Aliya
Aliya is an extraordinary young woman tackling her life challenges with bravery and resilience. She has recently graduated from Gladstone Secondary and is now ready to take on her post-secondary journey. Outside of school, Aliya has an incredible voice and loves to sing. She is also a very responsible and thoughtful support to her younger sister and is always willing to help her friends out when they need support. Aliya has been accepted to study first year post-secondary at Langara College for September 2020 and will work towards her goal of becoming an English Teacher.
The Standing Tall – Continuing Education Award
The Standing Tall – Continuing Education Award was awarded in the amount of $5,000 to Evan Macnamara, an extraordinary young man who has overcome so much throughout his life.
Watch Evan’s Story – Our third Standing Tall- Continuing Education Award Recipient
