(From left to right) Paul G. Harris and Louis Corriveau of the Piper Creek Optimist Club of Red Deer. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

Piper Creek Optimist Club of Red Deer

$3,000 in bursaries available for 2022 Young Leaders Award in Red Deer

May 18, 2022 | 2:05 PM

Graduating high school students in Red Deer who regularly volunteer may want to apply for the 2022 Young Leaders Award scholarship by the Piper Creek Optimist Club of Red Deer.

The second year for the award, a total of $3,000 in bursaries will be distributed, either in full or in part, to one or more students displaying an aptitude for giving back and being a community leader.

Paul G. Harris and Louis Corriveau, members of the Piper Creek Club, visited rdnewsNOW to share the announcement.

They explained the inspiration for the award was to create a unique scholarship open to all types of students.

“We’re not looking at GPA, what kind of program you go in. It’s just, can you prove that you really put a lot of effort in volunteer work, involvement in your community, do you plan on continuing to do it and furthering your education,” said Harris.

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Corriveau, who spearheaded the idea in 2021, said that an abundance of excellent applications were submitted for their first award. As a result, they not only brought it back for a second year, but increased the amount.

He reminisced on his own high school days, where bursaries focused on academic achievers rather than those who were highly involved in their communities. However, he says those individuals play just as much of an important role.

Harris echoed this statement with his own experience from his youth.

“My coaches growing up weren’t always the lawyers, the accountants, the educated people. They were the dads and they were just good at giving back,” said Harris.

Emphasizing the importance of volunteering; the members referenced the old adage ‘it takes a village’.

“When you sit down and think about growing up in a position of never having to worry about money and then all of a sudden when you do realize that some people are in that situation, you realize not everybody’s lucky. You got to help out,” said Corriveau.

The award is to be used for post-secondary or a furthering education program. Recipients must be enrolled in either the Fall 2022 or Winter 2023 semester. There are no limitations to where the educational institution is located and it does not have to be an accredited college or university.

The deadline to apply for the award is August 31, 2022.

The Red Deer Piper Creek Optimist Club, part of the Red Deer Optimist Club, is aimed towards a younger demographic of volunteers and promotes community involvement to help youths in Red Deer. For 37 years, the Piper Creek Club has raised over $1.6 million.

The club hosts multiple fundraising events such as bingo halls, casino and comedy nights, gala events, and their latest golf tournament on June 4 for youth programs.