Okanagan College Media Release

Trades and Apprenticeship students attending Okanagan College’s Penno Road location will benefit from an industry donation recently made by BC Hydro.

BC Hydro has given the Okanagan College Foundation $2,500 to support students attending Trades and Apprenticeship programs at Penno Road, the College’s newest trades centre in Kelowna, in an effort to help fulfill Hydro’s corporate mandate of supporting educational initiatives throughout the province.
 
“Every year in the interior of the province, BC Hydro extends more than $125,000 to non-profit and charity organizations in an effort to promote educational, environmental and community investment initiatives,” says Neil McPhie, Community Relations for BC Hydro. “We felt that supporting Trades and Apprenticeship training at Okanagan College was an excellent fit for our organization and are pleased to be able to invest in students as they complete their education and move into careers in their chosen field.”

BC Hydro’s investment will be used to purchase equipment and tools for students taking classes at the Penno Road location explains John Haller, Dean of Trades and Apprenticeship at Okanagan College. “Purchasing equipment for our students is extremely costly due to the fact that many of our programs require specialized tools,” says Haller. “This donation from BC Hydro will have a palpable impact on our current and future students as they receive the training they need to complete their education.”

“On behalf of the Okanagan College Foundation we are honoured to be on the receiving end of one of the many important community partnerships BC Hydro enters into,” says Kathy Butler, Executive Director of the Okanagan College Foundation. “Their corporate goals are in keeping with our mission statement in which we aim to transform lives and communities.”

In addition to the donation to the Penno Road location, BC Hydro currently supports Okanagan College students with three separate awards: BC Hydro’s Scholarship program, the BC Hydro Aboriginal Scholarship and the BC Hydro L’Ecole Polytechnic Memorial Award.

To find out more about Okanagan College’s Trades and Apprenticeship programs call 862-5457 or go online, www.okanagan.bc.ca/trades. For information about BC Hydro’s donations and sponsorship program visit, www.bchydro.com/outreach.