CFUW announces first recipient of new province-wide women's educational grant

CORRECTED: In the affiliated photo, the CFUW's regional director Gerlinde Sarkar is presenting the grant and not Dalelene Yelland as was previously stated. The Moose Jaw Express strives to be accurate, honest, and transparent, and we apologize for this mistake.

The Saskatchewan provincial chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) has just announced the winner of its first province-wide education grant for women following an application period ending on Oct. 27, 2023.

The first-ever recipient of the New Beginnings Grant is Jessica Falcon.

Originally from Lloydminster, Sask., Falcon left high school early and by age 21 was caring for her five children. At the time, she faced domestic violence, addiction issues, and had to rely on social assistance to get by. Despite all of these setbacks, she was still able to earn her Adult 12 education.

“I want to show my daughters what it looks like to be a strong Metis woman,” Falcon wrote in her grant application letter. “I no longer want to struggle and coast through life; I want to do better by my parents and family and show that there is a better way to life and the reward of education and growth.”

For residents of Moose Jaw, the program will remain in place and a second educational grant application will be available this fall.

“There sure is a need out there for young women to access education and have the funds to do so,” said Dalelene Yelland, secretary of the CFUW Sask. Council.

Established in 1919, the CFUW is one of the oldest service clubs in Canada.

The organization was originally founded in the wake of the Industrial Revolution and seeks to advance the independence of women through education. Among its membership have been several outstanding women and today the organization retains around 100 clubs across Canada with more than 7,500 members.

Each year, the CFUW awards more than $1 million in educational grants for women.

The CFUW hopes to achieve wider recognition of its work and its mission of helping young women prosper through advanced education. To achieve this goal, the organization – which already offers regular individual club level grants – is now offering a province-wide grant starting in 2023-24.

To qualify, individuals must be a female over the age of 21 and currently residing in Saskatchewan.

The New Beginnings Grant, according to the CFUW website, is awarded to a woman “who can effectively demonstrate that she has been held back from her career goals by her current level of education and lack of financial resources and who is determined to advance her education to reach her goals.”

“(Applicants must) have a background that would indicate to the folks that are looking at the applications that they have the qualities… to be able to continue on in their education,” Yelland explained.

“For example, they may have just finished Grade 12 and had some circumstances in their life that didn’t enable them to go on, but the marks they got in Grade 12 would qualify them to do so.”

The scholarship grant, in other words, helps most when finances are the only barrier to accessing further education.

“We are going to carry on with that grant being given, we hope, next year. We will advertise it broadly again, and there is some discussion that we may be able to do two grants,” Yelland said.

The next round of applications will take place later this year with exact dates to be determined. The CFUW will be meeting later in March to discuss the program’s details and will make an announcement once this information has been confirmed.

For more information on the Saskatchewan-based CFUW and the New Beginnings Grant program, visit CFUW-Saskatoon.org or email the organization at [email protected].

An announcement with further information and application details is anticipated around fall 2024.