Roland and Anne Neave have set up a new endowment at Thompson Rivers University that will provide an annual bursary to a student at Clearwater Secondary School who is planning to enter TRU in the fall.
The first bursary for $800 will be awarded in the spring of 2018.
The Neaves’ donation of $20,000 to the TRU Foundation was accepted last week. The bursary has been named in memory of Anne’s parents, Charles and Jean Whittaker, who were both teachers in Nanaimo.
For the past 25 years, Roland and Anne Neave have been donating regularly to the TRU Foundation and have previously set up three endowments.
In 2014, they donated 160 acres of their land in Upper Clearwater to the university to be an outdoor living laboratory for students at the TRU Wilderness Centre.
READ MORE: Neaves give land in Upper Clearwater
READ MORE: New park guide coming soon
One endowment is named for Roland’s father, Hugh Neave, and funds four scholarships and one bursary for geography students. Another remembers Roland’s mother, Dr. Margaret Neave, and assists two students in the skills training faculty (her medical specialty was learning disorders).
The Wells Gray Tours scholarships are awarded to three students in the School of Tourism. Roland Neave started running tours to Wells Gray Park in 1972 and Wells Gray Tours now operates tours all over the world.
The 10 scholarships and bursaries range in size from $650 to $1,800 each. TRU held its annual awards ceremony on Nov. 23.
Roland and Anne Neave live part-time in Upper Clearwater. Roland wrote the guidebook, “Exploring Wells Gray Park”, now in its sixth edition.