QECE Resource Centre Endowment Fund Established at Loyalist College with a Donation of $100,000
Loyalist College is pleased to announce the establishment of the Quinte Early Childhood Education Resource Centre (QECERC) Endowment Fund with a donation of $100,000. Together with the enhanced matching funds from the provincial government as part of the Ontario Trust for Student Support Program (OTSS), this endowment fund will provide financial assistance to students in Loyalist’s Early Childhood Education program in the form of annual bursaries.
When members of the executive of the QECERC visited the College to confirm the donation, they explained that the objects of the group are, “to provide early childhood education, early childhood educators and early childhood education programmes to young children, day care centres and early childhood educators.”
“As we consider dissolving our organization our wish is that rather than distribute our assets and just fade away, we might be able to find a way to continue to attain our goals,” said Treasurer Dan Dulmage.
“The present executive members of QECERC have an association of more than four decades standing with the College as faculty or as students, and we are confident in Loyalist’s ability to inspire and train quality Early Childhood Educators.”
College President Maureen Piercy thanked the organization executive for their generous donation and ongoing commitment to the field of early childhood education. “Members of the QECERC organization have worked tirelessly to raise funds for local day care facilities throughout its history,” she said. “Since 1999, the organization has provided Loyalist College with annual donations for ECE students and over the last 11 years, the awards have totaled $33,981. The substantial contribution to create a permanent endowed fund has truly cemented the group’s position as an ardent supporter of early childhood education, and a friend of Loyalist College.”
Dan Dulmage explained, “We are pleased to be able, through our donation to the College and with the matching funds from the Ontario Trust for Student Support, to provide an enduring legacy that will promote our mission for many years to come.”
Loyalist’s Early Childhood Education program has been offered since early in the College’s history. The first 16 graduates of the program were awarded their diplomas at the 1972 convocation ceremony.
Executive Members of the Quinte Early Childhood Education Resource Centre: Jeanne Lozanski, Marlene Campbell, Betty Exelby, Daniel Dulmage and Loyalist President Maureen Piercy
The QECERC’s connection with Loyalist has developed since the Centre’s beginnings in 1994 when many of the members were former College students, faculty, and graduates. Executive members include Betty Exelby, former faculty member in the ECE program; Dan Dulmage, who studied Communication Arts; Marlene Campbell, graduate of the Medical Office Administration Program; and, Jeanne Lozanski, a graduate of the College’s ECE program.
Media Contact: Edina Cappuccitti, College Advancement & External Relations, Loyalist College, (613) 969-1913, ext. 2392; ecappuccitti@loyalistc.on.ca