The Fondation Marichette is expanding the number of bursaries it has for New Brunswick women who are looking to pursue a French education for the upcoming school year.
The Fondation Marichette is hoping to make French education a reachable goal for New Brunswick women this upcoming September with 20 $10,000 bursaries up for grabs this year.
The foundation started back in 2015 and started giving out bursaries in 2016 according to board member and community activities manager, Hélène Branch.
She says it started with just two $500 bursaries and has been able to grow ever since.
Today, they typically give out bursaries to 10 students for $10,000 each.
“Most people on welfare are women with children. Most people who have a low paying job are women with children,” she said.
“A lot of young students come out of Grade 12, and they come from very low-income families, and they find it very difficult to survive on the bursaries and loans that they get now, so we decided that we were going to help them out. We were going to help out less people but give them more money.”
Branch says the Fondation Marichette looked to raise $1M last year and ended up raising $1.4M. They were also able to partnership with the Hewitt Foundation for the upcoming school year to double the amount of money and students they could help.
“There’s always a lot of women that would like to get out of this circle of poverty, of low income, would like to take off and get wings through education. That will always be, but at least we’re helping some of them,” said Branch.
To date, the Fondation Marichette has helped 45 women gain a higher French education including 10 who are currently studying.
“We’ve had some testimonials from some of these girls and women that brought tears to our eyes,” she said.
“We don’t want to stop. I mean, as long as it’s working this way, we want to increase the amount of students that we’re helping, the amount of women that we’re helping. Low income and poverty is so prevalent and the only way to get out of it is to be able to have access to good paying jobs.”
The foundation says the bursaries are made possible through donations and activities and how many they can give out depends on each year.
There is a number of criteria that eligible students have to meet including being a resident of New Brunswick and being admitted on a full-time basis to a program delivered in French that will lead to an undergraduate degree, diploma or certificate.
The deadline to apply is March 15, 2025.
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