September 29, 2009

Funds raised will be used for endowments and bursaries in support of post-secondary education for students in financial need

OSHAWA, ON. – The ongoing support of sponsors, auction donors, community partners and other guests at the 2009 Legacy Gala has once again ensured that hundreds of students in financial need will make their post-secondary dreams a reality at Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). 

The eighth annual gala was held on September 18 at Tosca Banquet Hall and Conference Centre in Oshawa and raised $205,000 toward scholarship endowments and student bursaries. The amount includes $102,500 in matching funds provided through the provincial government’s Ontario Trust for Student Support.

“On behalf of everyone at Durham College, I would like to express my wholehearted thanks to all of our partners for their unwavering support of our students’ success,” said Don Lovisa, president of Durham College. “Their generous contributions ensure that our gala is an ongoing success year after year. In addition, thanks to their kindness, we are able to provide our students with the financial support needed for them to access a high-quality education that will allow them to meet the requirements of Durham Region’s workforce today and in the future, helping to ensure a strong economy for us all.”

The event – themed Irresistible Venice – saw guests enjoy an evening in Italy’s most romantic city including Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square) – the inspiration behind the gala’s silent auction event. Guests enjoyed the historic charm and lure of Venice’s landscape through masquerade, music, live and silent auctions, dancing and wine tasting.

Sponsors of this year’s gala included the Albis family, owners of Tosca and Avanti Trattoria; Ontario Power Generation; the Caribbean Event and Grant Morris Associates Ltd.; Bill and Janis Robinson; the Durham College Alumni Association; Metroland Durham Region Media Group; BMO; Campus Living Centres; Durham Regional Police Services Board; KPMG; Manufacturing and Technology Centre (MTC); RBC; and Veridian.

“On behalf of myself, my fellow students, Durham College and UOIT, I say thank you to our honourable donors for their generous contributions toward the education of students,” said Kevin Patterson, a Durham College Advanced Law Enforcement and Investigations student and award recipient. “Thank you so much for your commitment to the achievements that we are capable of because, as we all know, success matters.

The Legacy Gala is held each September to raise funds for students attending Durham College and UOIT. It is designed to relieve students’ financial burden and help them pursue their post-secondary dreams.

About Durham College
At Durham College, the student experience comes first, an approach it has taken for more than 40 years. Through a vast range of market-driven programs that are taught by exceptional professors with real-world experience, students develop the skills required to meet the ever-changing needs of employers and the job market. Moving forward, Durham College’s expansion plans will see its Whitby campus grow by 40,000 square feet including the construction of an energy-neutral living laboratory for new technologies and education that will serve the growing needs of the emerging energy sector. The expansion will also provide new opportunities for skilled trades training, an area vitally important to Ontario’s ability to grow and prosper in the years ahead. Durham College has more than 6,300 full-time students, thousands of part-time students and more than 1,400 apprentices. For more information, visit www.durhamcollege.ca or call 905.721.2000.

Media contact:
Allison Rosnak
Communications and Marketing
Durham College 
905.721.2000 ext. 2333
allison.rosnak@durhamcollege.ca

 

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