Judy Howell and Viv Lieskovsky of the Penticton Secondary Schools Bursary and Scholarship Foundation accept a $2-million endowment from the estate of David E. Kampe from lawyer Richard Thompson.
Special to The Herald
David Kampe’s legacy of giving lives on.
Three years after the Penticton businessman passed away, his estate has come up with a $2-million donation to the Penticton Secondary Schools Bursary and Scholarship Foundation.
The gift follows a $195,000 donation Kampe made in 2018 to the foundation, which distributed the cash in the form of $5,000 academic bursaries and $3,000 awards to vocational students based on demonstrated financial need.
Kampe requested the $2 million be distributed in the same fashion, but spread over a 10-year period. In recent years, the foundation has disbursed approximately $250,000 annually to 150 students, meaning the new endowment will nearly double the funding available to local graduates of Penticton’s two high schools over the next decade.
“Mr. Kampe hoped that these awards would have a significant impact on students who just need a bit more help to get them on their way to college or university programs,” said Viv Lieskovsky, president of the foundation, in a press release.
“The average cost of one year of post-secondary is $18,000 to $25,000, making it unaffordable for many. As post-secondary expenses continue to increase, this endowment will allow the foundation to provide a higher level of funding for many students, making post-secondary more attainable for those who need some additional help.
“Similar to the mindset of all of the foundation donors, Mr. Kampe was a strong supporter of Penticton’s young people and he hoped that new individuals and businesses would be interested in helping Penticton students move forward in their educational goals.”
The Penticton Secondary Schools Bursary and Scholarship Foundation is a registered charity, and all donations are tax deductible. For more information, contact the foundation at psbf@sd67.bc.ca.
Kampe, who died in May 2019 at the age of 77, was famously private and built his fortune through Peters Bros. Construction, which he grew into a paving company with upwards of 200 employees who work all over B.C.
He’s best known for philanthropy in his later years, which saw him donate in the range of $8 million to Penticton Regional Hospital, where the new patient care tower bears his name. Kampe was posthumously appointed to the Order of B.C.