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Did you know that Indspire is an Indigenous national charity that invests in the education of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people?
Through the support of people like you, Indspire provides scholarships, bursaries and other programs to Indigenous students across Canada.
Naomi Narcisse is an Indspire bursary recipient:
When Naomi and her kids moved to Vancouver so she could attend Simon Fraser University, it wasn’t easy – financially or emotionally.
“It was really tough being dislocated from our family, our culture, our traditional ways. And the high cost of living in Vancouver is really challenging. I don’t know how a lot of our students do it.
There were many times I wanted to quit because of the finances. It’s not about being worried about buying shoes or jackets. It’s being worried about whether I can feed the kids and keep the lights on.
There were times when my hydro was cut and we had no food.”
Naomi was about to pack up and go back home. That’s when she learned about Indspire. Indigenous support workers told Naomi about the awards and scholarships available to her, encouraging her to apply for them.
“Scholarships and bursaries from Indspire kept my head afloat. The funding took a weight off my shoulders as a mother, as an Indigenous learner.”
Because of people like you, Indspire was able to help Naomi. Especially during COVID, when so many students struggled. Now that Naomi has finished her Master’s, she wants to go into teaching.
“I am a huge advocate for post-secondary school. I know what it’s like first hand to have self-doubt and not believe in yourself. I want to be a hands-on educator, and to be around other Indigenous learners in higher education.
And it doesn’t stop there. I want to go for a PhD in education too. I want to keep going.
My kids are so supportive of my education. My degree is as much theirs as it is mine. I’m doing this for them. Education opens doors.”
So you see, when people like you help us provide bursaries to young women like Naomi, you aren’t helping just one person. Through Naomi, our supporters have given her children a brighter future, too.
You can make a donation today and join the thousands of Canadians who have decided to help Indspire give Indigenous students every opportunity possible to graduate with post-secondary education.
Donate with confidence. Indspire’s work has been acknowledged as a model of donor accountability, financial transparency and cost-efficiency by Charity Intelligence Canada. They have recognized Indspire with their four-star rating, and named us as a Top 10 Canadian Impact Charity for the last five years.
