A new bursary created with a $100,000 gift from a Trent University alumna will support students who have lived under the exclusive care of the Children’s Aid Society.

The Willsy’s Extended Society Care Fund, created through the generosity of Elizabeth Wills-Edwards ’08, will provide an annual bursary of up to $4,000 for students who lived under Extended Society Care – an order made by the courts for the province to assume full responsibility for a child or youth after determining it is not in the child’s best interest to live with his or her birth parents and other options, such as being placed with a relative, are not available.

“As a young woman, I left a strict religious sect and my family home as I worked hard to support myself, leaving behind the only people I had ever known,” says Ms. Wills-Edwards. “I know those in Extended Society Care can also often experience an overwhelming sense of rejection and feelings of isolation so it’s my hope that this fund will support them, and make a true difference in their lives, as they pursue their dreams at Trent University.”

Preference will be given, but not limited to, mature students who are at least 24 years of age and there is no restriction on the students’ academic year or field of study.

Born in Australia, Ms. Wills-Edwards spent the first years of her life in the religious sect that enforced many restrictions. The sect did not encourage education and females were not permitted to attend post-secondary.

She left at age 20, working to feed, clothe and shelter herself while eventually moving to England where she pursued her educational dreams by taking evening courses in Human Resources.

“The unfinished education had always bothered me,” Ms. Wills-Edwards adds.

She moved to Canada with her husband in 1984 and, with plenty of life experience behind her, finally “plucked up the courage” to enroll at Trent in her late 50s.

“From the moment I entered Trent University, through to my graduation, I found it a warm and welcoming place to be,” Ms. Wills-Edwards says.

She proudly graduated in 2012 with an Honours B.A. in Political Studies.

Her advice to students, who have experienced hardships and challenges, is to understand that they can manage difficult emotions, but the key is to ask for help.

“Trent has the resources and an understanding of what kind of help and encouragement is needed to provide each and every student the opportunity to learn, and by doing so, gain a deeper understanding about the things that happen in our journey through life,” she says. “This is why the Willsy’s Extended Society Care Fund has been established - to at least offer practical help and make a difference in the lives of those very special young people.”