UBC Reports | Vol. 48 | No. 6 | April 4, 2002

Bank Gift Targets Students and Eastside Residents

HSBC donation matched by UBC to reach community goals.

By Judith Walker

It had all the usual trappings of a society event.

Chamber music played, glasses clinked and shutters clicked as UBC accepted a $1.4 million dollar donation from HSBC Bank Canada at UBC's Robson Square campus. Even the Vancouver Sun's society columnist Malcom Parry was there and made it the lead item in his column.

But beneath the glitz, the real significance of the generous donation will be felt among students with financial needs. A large portion of the gift is earmarked to assist the Learning Exchange to offer courses to Downtown Eastside residents.

Margo Fryer, director of the Learning Exchange, says more than 200 people, mostly residents of the Downtown Eastside, have so far taken the 101 courses that UBC has been able to offer. The HSBC gift will fund more such courses for low-income people. Fryer says these courses are often bridges to new opportunities. "One of the participants in Music Appreciation 101 said that the course had given him back his dreams. The word graduates of these courses have used over and over again is 'opportunity.'"

The bulk of the donation will also provide opportunities for other students in the form of bursaries and scholarships.

The HSBC Bank Canada gift of $1.4 million, the single largest contribution to UBC from a bank, will help the university realize its community goals, President Martha Piper said March 19 as she accepted a cheque from Martin Glynn, President and Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bank Canada.

"1.4 million dollars. Isn't that a nice number? But the truly fabulous part of this gift rests not merely in its size, but in its strategic direction. HSBC has been thoughtful in its giving," President Piper continued.

The gift, matched by UBC, will go toward four initiatives:

• $1 million will contribute to the physical structure of UBC at Robson Square
• $200,000 will assist the Learning Exchange to offer courses to Downtown Eastside residents
• $200,000 will go to the Liu Centre for the Study of Global Issues for an HSBC Visiting Lecturer series at the Point Grey and Robson Square campuses
• In addition, $700,000 will be endowed for HSBC scholarships and $700,000 will be endowed for HSBC bursaries for UBC undergraduate and graduate students.