Scholarships
Scholarship Program
CFUW Charlottetown’s Scholarship program began in 1958 with the establishment of an award of $100 to a Prince of Wales College (PWC) student. In subsequent years, the Club has raised a substantial amount of money through book sales, bakes sales, craft sales and yard sales.
In 1967 the PWC Award became the Frieda Creelman Undergraduate Scholarship for a student pursuing a degree in any one of Music, Fine Arts, Drama or Creative Writing. The amount of the Scholarship rose slowly as more interest was received from investments. The fund was registered as a Charitable Trust in 1971.
By 1977 the club had sufficient investments to establish a graduate scholarship in honour of a deceased member, Margaret MacMillan Pratt.
The club continued to raise funds for the Scholarship Program, and by 1984 the club was able to give the Helen Lawson Award of $100 to the PEI Music Festival for a choir deemed worthy by the adjudicators of the Provincial Festival. In 2002, this award was increased to $250, and was funded by the club, rather than by the Trust Fund.
From 1977 to 2002, these two scholarships and one award were presented annually. In 2002, the club received a considerable bequest from the estate of Edward Pratt, husband of the late Margaret MacMillan Pratt, which, when added to our own accumulated investments, allowed us to increase the Frieda Creelman Scholarship to $1,500, and to offer two Margaret MacMillan Pratt Scholarships – one in Arts and one in Science – valued at $5,000 each.
To date our club has given over $6,500 in PEI Music Festival Helen Lawson Awards, and nearly $170,000 in undergraduate and graduate scholarships.
In 2013, CFUW Charlottetown turned over the administration and investment of the scholarship funds to the University of Prince Edward Island. The CFUW Charlottetown Graduate Scholarships, one in Arts and Education, and one in Science and Nursing, will be advertised in November of each year with an application deadline of January 31, for awarding in late February. The amount will be set by UPEI, but should be at least $5,000 each.
The first two recipients of our new scholarships were selected in the spring of 2014. The tradition continues, but with a little help from our friends!
