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GIVING BACK
During the Second World War, Lady Eaton provided Eaton Hall to the Royal Canadian Navy as a Convalescent Hospital to treat wounded veterans.
Financial aid for nursing students
A fitting tribute to Lady Flora Eaton
SENECA’S SCHOOL OF NURSING is housed at King Campus—on the grounds of the former Eaton Estate that Lady Flora Eaton generously provided as a military hospital during the Second World War. Lady Eaton was a nurse by training. She served at Rotherham House, where she met a patient named John Craig Eaton, who would become her husband.
To honour Lady Eaton (pictured above), three Eaton family foundations have established the Lady Eaton Endowed Scholarship for Nurses. This scholarship will be awarded to Seneca’s top nursing students, who are excelling in their studies and making a positive difference in the community.
“The Eaton foundations’ support of Seneca’s nursing students is greatly appreciated and comes at a critical time for the profession,” says Maria May, Dean, Faculty of Applied Arts and Health Sciences. “There is a shortage of nurses in Ontario and nationally, and we need to do all we can to support those devoted to pursing careers in patient care.”
The Lady Eaton Endowed Scholarship for Nurses will offset tuition costs for those with exceptional grades and who contribute through volunteerism and as mentors.
Paying It Forward giving initiative
Inspiring alumni to help students in need
“PAY IT FORWARD” is an expression used to describe the beneficiary of a good deed repaying it to others. An altruistic concept, it helped to inspire the Seneca Alumni Pay-It-Forward Challenge. In April, Seneca set out with the goal of challenging 250 alumni to make a gift to benefit the next generation of graduates.
By the end of June, the Pay-It-Forward Challenge closed with 285 donors, surpassing the original goal by 35, and raising more than $10,000. Better still, a gift of $25,000 from an anonymous donor was unlocked, helping the Challenge reach $35,000. As a result, 70 new $500 bursaries will be distributed in the current academic year.
One of these donors was Hong Chen, who graduated from the Human Resources Strategy & Technology Degree program. She was motivated to give because of her own struggles to make ends meet as a student and by how much receiving a scholarship helped her.
“I was in their shoes not too long ago,” Hong remembers. “[My scholarship] offered such relief. There is no greater inhibitor than financial stress. It gives me great pleasure knowing that I can do the same for others.”
The Pay it Forward concept is well-timed in the current postsecondary landscape. Students today face more challenges than any generation before them. For many, economic hardship poses a barrier to persistence and graduation. The connection between financial aid and student retention is undeniable.
“Each year, we lose too many students,” says Tan-Ling Yeung, Director, Advancement and Alumni. “Not because they are ill-suited to their chosen field of study, but because they simply cannot afford to pay for school. These are the students our alumni can help the most.”
If you did not have a chance to participate in the Pay-It-Forward Challenge, there are still plenty of opportunities to give back to Seneca throughout the year. Visit senecacollege.ca/donate to learn how.
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