Across Canada there are over 60,000 children living in permanent care with foster families, in group homes, or in kinship care. Many of these children struggle with gaining access to adequate educational opportunities, especially when it comes to post-secondary education. Out of every one thousand children in Canadian foster care, only eight will go on to graduate with a post-secondary degree. Research has shown that adults with a bachelor’s degree earn up to one million dollars more during their careers than workers with a high school diploma alone. Foster children who do not have the financial support to pursue post-secondary education are put at a significant disadvantage and often struggle even obtaining stable housing later in life.

Compared to other provinces, British Columbia has been very progressive about providing support for foster children to help with the costs of post-secondary education. In 2017, the Provincial Tuition Waiver Program was expanded so that young people leaving foster care could have access to free tuition at all 25 of British Columbia’s public post-secondary institutions. This was a major step forward and provided so many foster children with the opportunity to go to post-secondary school, which would not have available to them otherwise.

For all of the good that the Provincial Tuition Waiver Program has done, it does have some limitations. The Waiver Program only covers tuition fees, which do tend to be the most expensive part of attending post-secondary school; however, there are many other costs that need to be accounted for including books, food, and housing. The other major limitation of the Waiver Program is that it only applies to foster children from British Columbia. If a foster student from another province wishes to attend a British Columbia University, they do not receive the same kind of support.

In an attempt to provide further support for foster children and youth in care, Storwell Self Storage has launched the Foster Children Bursary Program. This $2,000 bursary is available for foster children from all across Canada and can be used for any expenses associated with their post-secondary education, including but not limited to, tuition fees. Storwell has been providing high-quality self-storage units in Toronto and across the GTA for over twenty years and is now trying to help foster children across the country better their lived through the pursuit of advanced education.

• Must have been a foster child with an official Canadian or American foster care program and agrees to having the above organization verify the same. Youth who were involved in kinship care or other alternative living situations can also receive consideration for this award.

• Will be enrolled as a full-time student at a recognized general/ vocational College or post-secondary institution in Canada by the start of the next school semester.

• Must be a Canadian or American Citizen or Permanent Resident.

• Must be 24 years of age or less at the time of application.

If you have any questions, please contact Storwell at (416) 259-5555 or submit an inquiry here.