Seneca RED Fall 2021 Alumni Magazine - 37

GIVING
BACK
$5.4M
Total fundraising
revenue in 2020/21
Like father, like daughter
Supporting Seneca
is a Shaver family
tradition
MIKE SHAVER'S CONNECTION to
Seneca dates back to the early
2000s when he advised on
incorporating open source technology
into software design
curriculum. Since then, he's
served on Seneca's board,
received an honorary degree
and become a donor.
When Mr. Shaver comes
to campus to meet students or
attend award ceremonies, his
daughter, Claire, is often with
him. Seeing her dad's generosity
on display in support of Seneca's
students inspired Claire,
who started Grade 9 this fall,
to become a donor too.
Seneca's youngest ever donor.
" I wanted to give because I
saw my dad do it, " said Ms.
Shaver. " It is a cool, worthwhile
thing to do. "
After saving her money
for two years, Ms. Shaver
approached her dad with this
idea. Together, they developed
a plan to create a fund to support
Black, First Nations, Métis
and Inuit students in Seneca's
community and social services,
mental health and wellness,
early childhood education and
paralegal programs.
While Mr. Shaver was
" tremendously proud " of his
daughter's philanthropy, he was
not surprised.
" Claire is generous and socially
aware, " he said. " Her goals
mirror mine - to make the
world like we want it, to provide
opportunities for other people
and help build communities. "
Recipients of Ms. Shaver's
award will demonstrate financial
need, leadership and academic
achievement. It will be
an endowment - the third
established at Seneca by the
Shaver family. Mr. Shaver has
led the way creating awards to
support women in technology,
early childhood education students
and young entrepreneurs
at HELIX, Seneca's on-campus
incubator and accelerator.
Ms. Shaver's interests in art
and social sciences will guide
her own education as she
enters high school. She will
also find new ways to contribute
to her community and have
fun with friends. But her giving
she'll keep to herself.
" I have a lot of great friends,
and they'd be supportive, " she
said. " But I never talked about
it. In the future, I generally
want to help as much as I can. "
Her goals mirror mine - to
make the world like we want
it, to provide opportunities
for other people and help
build communities.
To learn more about creating your own
award, bursary or scholarship please visit
senecacollege.ca/awards
Picture above: Mike Shaver
and his daughter, Claire
RED 2021
37
PHOTO: IAN PATTERSON
http://www.senecacollege.ca/awards
Seneca RED Fall 2021 Alumni Magazine

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