Generosity Through the Generations
Published19 November, 2024
Photo credit Deborah and Allan Edgeworth
Sometimes a bursary is more than a financial award.
Sometimes, it’s a legacy of the dreams and character of a young person lost too early; it’s an emblem of shared memory and values of gratitude and philanthropy that endure through generations.
For longtime North Vancouver residents Deborah and Allan Edgeworth, the bursary that bears the name of their eldest son is all of those things, and more: it’s also a tribute to the student experience at Capilano University, and part of a family tradition of generosity.
As longtime donors to CapU through securities gifts and a memorial bursary, the Edgeworths are fuelled by the compassion they recognized in their son Kenneth, who studied at CapU in the 1990s (when it was still Capilano College), and the gratitude Allan learned from his own father.
“Ken liked Capilano College because it was personal and intimate,” said Allan, a retired engineer. “It was easy to interact with instructors, and he really liked that.”
Living by example
The rich memories of Kenneth’s impact on the family galvanized his parents to create the Kenneth Allan Edgeworth Memorial Bursary in 2004. Since then, the bursary has given students a financial boost that helps them continue their studies at CapU, barrier-free, where they’d otherwise be deterred from studying altogether.
The Edgeworths tell of their son’s deep concern when in high school, Ken took on a summer job in a retail shop on Lonsdale Avenue.
His co-worker expressed how much he longed to go to college or university – but his low-income family couldn’t support his dream and his own wage was too low to meet the costs of tuition.
Ken was moved by his friend’s story. “It really made an impact on him that this young man’s hands were tied and he couldn’t get to school,” Allan said.
Security Giving
Your gift of a publicly-traded securities is a simple, cost-effective and most tax-efficient way to make a charitable gift to Capilano University.
Security GivingAs a young adult, Ken travelled widely and returned to Canada with little, because he would often give his belongings to less fortunate families along the way.
He had a close friend who lived with muscular dystrophy and couldn’t easily navigate stairs or urban terrain – so Kenneth would carry him on his back.
“We wanted to help students who maybe have a part time job on the side or they’re good students, but they just need some financial help. He just felt for people, and that’s how we set parameters for the bursary,”
Generosity through the generations
Kenneth’s gratitude echoed that of his grandfather Les Edgeworth, now 97. As a teen in the 1940s, Les was thrust into the role of head-of-household after the sudden death of his father left his mother alone with six children. He worked to support them, but dreamed of becoming an engineer.
When he told the Dean he couldn’t afford tuition, the Dean cut him a cheque that got him through the rest of his degree. Once employed, young Les Edgeworth worked hard to pay him back.
Years later, he and Ken’s father Allan set up their own scholarships in civil and geological engineering.
“When you donate a stock that’s gone up in value, it’s a win-win because the benefactor gets the current market value, and the donor gets a great tax advantage.”
While the tax advantages may present a perk of philanthropy, the Edgeworths say their momentum to give to CapU is rooted deeply in their memories of their beloved son, and the wish they shared with him: that students who need the financial boost can get it and thrive.
“On one of our travels a woman shared with us that ‘children are an investment and grandchildren are the dividends.’ We feel the same way of making philanthropic donations of securities,” Allan said.
“In donating for Ken’s bursary it is one way of keeping Ken’s spirit alive and at the same time is fulfilling by paying dividends forward in Ken’s memory to deserving students needing financial help to attain their scholastic dreams.”
