Causes we are supporting in 2025/26
Each year, we will support a variety of initiatives to help youth thrive.
01
We are supporting the Education Matters campaign to ensure that Kindergarten to Grade 12 students receive backpacks filled with essential supplies to start the upcoming school year.
02
Club Sponsorship
To build upon Graeme’s legacy of always being available to help others, this grant is meant to enable students to pursue their extracurricular passion projects without having to worry about the cost of club fees.
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Variable grants (up to $500 each) will be available. Applications (via club sponsors/teachers) are open now and being accepted until November 30, 2025 (deadline extended due to the current teachers strike). Students are asked to provide a brief statement as to how the club activities will facilitate their goals, as well as a brief summary of their financial needs.
03
Humble Hero Award
In every school there are those students who are naturally inclined to help others and improve the community, but may shy away from the limelight. These individuals show that they consistently care about the well-being and success of those around them, irrespective of recognition.
The Humble Hero Award recognizes an outstanding, but unsung, student who has demonstrated a genuine and consistent desire to help others in their studies, extracurricular activities or personally, but may be overlooked by established awards.
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Value: $2500, students will be nominated by Western Canada High School staff by May 1, 2026. The successful recipient will be announced in early June 2026. The successful recipient will also be able to choose a charity that the GW Foundation will donate $1000 towards in support of Mental Health.
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04
Graeme Wada Excellence Award
Graeme had a wide range of interests and talents, as evidenced by his love of not only Math and Physics,
but Social studies and History. Graeme was endlessly curious, incredibly generous and always ready to share his knowledge so that he could help others.
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Value: $2500. The award will be given to the student with the highest combined average in the subjects of Social Studies 30, Math 30 and Physics 30. The successful recipient will be announced in early June 2026.The successful recipient will also be able to choose a charity that the GW Foundation will donate $1000 towards in support of Mental Health.
Help Us Decide What Other Initiatives to Support
Graeme was passionate about teaching and loved working at Code Ninjas to help kids learn how to code. He took the job seriously, but most importantly he loved working with the kids and seeing them do well. We would love to hear from you about other worthy causes that we could support.