The YWCA Peterborough Haliburton has put out a call for applications for the 2025 Hazel Education bursary.
Now in its 28th year, the annual fund is available to women who have experienced gender-based violence, helping them to reach their goals through education or training, says local YWCA executive director Kim Dolan.
Applicants are eligible for between $1,500 and $2,500, Dolan said. The award is named in honour of Hazel (no last name provided), an advisor and volunteer for community services in the region, who passed away in 1996 after a long battle with breast cancer.
“Hazel was a remarkable woman who Hazel’s request. Dolan said, for years, Hazel endured a difficult home life. lived in a rural community north of Peterborough. She had a dream of finding a way to help women overcome barriers related to violence and abuse to support them to pursue their dreams.
“Hazel believed that everyone deserved a chance and that chances should be made possible,” Dolan said.
Applications are due by May 1, and are open to any female survivor of domestic violence and abuse who has “a dream to strengthen their economic security,” are a resident of Peterborough or Haliburton County, and seek to further their formal or informal education, or develop skills.
Women from rural areas will be given special consideration for the award, per Hazel’s request.
Dolan said, for years, Hazel endured a difficult home life.
“She overcame obstacles that stood in the way of success. This carried her back into the world she left; only now she was helping other women to address familyoriented barriers, such as domestic violence, child health, subsidized housing, poverty, rural isolation, and access to training and education,” Dolan said. “She befriended all those she touched.”
Hazel’s daughter, speaking anonymously, said her mother was a pillar of strength for many in the community, noting that through the bursary her enduring spirit lives on and continues to help struggling women long after her death.
“Perhaps you have overcome some barriers already. Now you are being given a chance to take another step towards your goal. Not only are you making a place for women through your actions, but you are also carrying her spirit with you,” she said.
Dolan said past recipients have, “become community advocates and workers in non-profit organizations, social workers, creators of art, small business owners, and community leaders.”
For more information, visit ywcapeterborough.org/get-help/education, or contact Emily Jensen at 705-743-3526 ext. 120, or ejensen@ywcapeterborough. org.
