Winkler Community Foundation hit a milestone 10th anniversary this year for their Gordon Wiebe Education Fund. Celebrating at Zara's Garden Tuesday night. for this occasion, the foundation invited current and former recipients, as well as their choice of accompanying guests. The Gordon Wiebe Education Fund was founded with a bequest from the estate of former pharmacist Gordon Wiebe. Because the Gordon Wiebe Education Fund is endowed, it will continue to support young people from Winkler for many years to come. Giving back is key A defining feature of the Winkler Community Foundation awards has always been the focus on community involvement. Each recipient has been selected not only for academic potential, but also for their dedication to the Winkler community. They have volunteered at local organizations, mentored younger students, participated in community events, and found meaningful ways to support and uplift those around them. This commitment to giving back is at the heart of what makes this scholarship program special. Foundation celebrates legacy Executive Director Myra Peters spoke to the enduring success of the endowment. "We are excited to celebrate 10 years of the Gordon Wiebe Scholarships." Peters shared. "The Gordon Wiebe Scholarship Fund was created when he left a bequest with the Winkler Community Foundation, to support young people pursuing post-secondary education. "Gordon left was an endowment." Peters added. "So that gift is never spent. Each year we're giving back from the interest earned from that gift. That's the beauty of an endowment fund. It keeps giving year after year forever. "This gave the foundation an amazing opportunity and we're so thankful for it. We created this scholarship fund that supports post-secondary education for young students." Financial relief for continuing education Care was taken from the start to ensure students were able to continue their education with less of a financial burden. "We were able to design it in a way that it impacted short-term studies, right out of high school graduates continuing the ongoing education." Petere explained. "Then we do have one that's a Make It A Reality and it's really a game changer award for one student each year. "This year it's thirty thousand dollars, so it is given over four years as long as they continue their studies. It's really great to be able to support so many young people." Scholarship touches many 52 awards were distributed in 2026 to support young people pursuing post-secondary education this fall. That's just part of the scholarship's legacy. "We've supported over 224 students over the past 10 years, giving out over $886,000 over the past 10 years." Peters noted. "The exciting part is, it's going to continue. "Every year we continue to give out more grants, more scholarships to young people, and so it's fun to be a part of this." This year, the $118,000+ in awards includes: • 37 Ongoing Education Support Awards • 3 Make It a Reality Awards • 6 Gordon Wiebe High School Graduate Awards • 6 Winkler Community Foundation RRC Polytech Awards Open to all studies Since the fund was established, nearly 400 education awards - varying from $1,000, $2,000 up to $30,000 each - have been distributed to students pursuing their educational and career goals. "There's no restriction on what you're studying." Peters shared. "For most of the awards, you do have to be studying full-time at a CRA-approved institution. It is open to anybody that's pursuing post-secondary "But we are looking for students that are giving back. They've shown that they've done something to give back in the community that they live in, the school that they live or attend. It could be volunteering, it could be coaching, it could be helping serve at an event. There's so many activities that could be done, but we're looking for students that give back to community." Volunteers keep foundation going Like many foundations throughout the Pembina Valley, Winkler Community Foundation is served by volunteers. "The foundation is all volunteer board members, and so they do guide the foundation in the work that we do." Peters noted. "It's really exciting when we see the young students that are coming back into the community and settling down and finding ways to give back. "One of our board members is now a past recipient and so that's exciting. He's learning the process of reviewing applications and selecting recipients and being a part of the scholarship fund from the other side now." That new board member is Cam Wiens "I received a scholarship from the Gordon Wiebe Education Fund when I was just out of high school." Wiens explained. "So that would have been about 11 years ago now, 10 years ago. "I went to university, came back and was asked to volunteer on the scholarship committee. So what we do is we adjudicate and then we choose the winners of the scholarships every year. So I've done that for, I'm on my fifth year now of doing that." Career launched thanks to scholarship support As one of the first-year recipients of a scholarship, Wiens has grown in his role with the foundation, since he was asked to get involved. "Just last year I was asked to join the board of the Community Foundation as well." He shared. "I volunteer. The board is with the foundation and then the scholarship committee is sort of like a once a year we get together and do all the reviews of the applications." His own education gave him his career and brought him back home. "So, I went to Brown University, and I got my business degree in accounting." Wiens outlined.. "Then I came back to Winkler and I worked at BDO for several years. "Now I'm at Kroeker Farms actually as a system controller. I got my CPA." .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Opportunity from scholarship Wiens' pride is readily apparent, and is shared with his fellow recipients. "I just think it's really neat to see all the faces, and all the people, the opportunity and people who might come back to Winkler and what could they do, could they be doctors and lawyers and all kinds of things." Wiens suggested. "I just think it's an amazing thing like that a pharmacist 10 years ago, well it might have even been 12 years ago, decided, you know, I'm going to give you $2,000,000 to fund education in Winkler. Give students in Winkler an opportunity to just, you know, to get through school. I think that's just an amazing thing." Continuing support One of his fellow recipients is currently renewing ongoing education support. Chantal Human is in her second of three years of the ongoing education scholarship, and she is pursuing a Bachelor of Social Work. "In the social work field and having some experience as well working in it, knowing the financial difficulties sometimes that people would have just getting into university, right?" Human shared. "Scholarships like this are amazing for allowing people that wouldn't have this opportunity otherwise to get into secondary, post-secondary. Well, I wouldn't be able to go into school without it." Human is pursuing her education here in the province. "I'm at the University of Manitoba, but I'm doing the distance delivery program, so I get to stay here in Winkler." .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Advice is to apply She is encouraging high school graduates to apply for a scholarship. "So many people have different levels of support, whether that's financial or emotional or whatever it is, right?" Human explained. "But it honestly does just relieve stress. I think no matter where you're coming from, not having to worry about your tuition being paid or at least a portion of it being paid, it allows you to focus on your schooling so that way you can focus on your marks, focusing on getting things out of your courses and not just getting the passing grade and getting the degree." Stress relief Human also expanded on how circumstances differ for applicants, and those different needs can benefit immensely from financial assistance, or relief. "It's like you're actually taking things away from your schooling." Human added. "I guess specifically I'm from a little bit of a different place than maybe other recipients. "So, I'm a mom of two. I'm finishing schooling maybe a little bit later than others just exiting high school and all that stuff. So I'd say to anyone who's wanting to finish their education maybe a little bit later to go for it." Related stories: Winkler Community Foundation awards nearly $256,000 through 40 grants Deadline to apply for a Winkler Community Foundation Scholarship is around the corner Never too late Human spoke graciously of her community, and advised applicants to not hold back. "This community as a whole, like yes, the scholarship at the foundation, as a community, as a whole is incredibly generous and incredibly supportive. "No matter what point you are in life, this is a good place to start out, and it's never too late to start." To learn more about the scholarships, visit winklercommunityfoundation.com, and click on the Scholarships tab. You'll find information on each of the scholarships, the requirements for applying, handy FAQs, and a list of past recipients. Applications for 2027 awards will open 1st and are due February 28th. with files from Winkler Community Foundation