Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation

Amber Bowerman continues to help student journalists and inspire friends, family and her community.

On the eve of the third year anniversary of her passing, the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation announced the creation of a lasting legacy for their namesake during a press conference at SAIT Polytechnic.

Through the generous and kind efforts of donors, the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation has met its endowment fundraising objective for the SAIT Polytechnic journalism scholarship in Amber’s name. The final cheque for the SAIT endowment was presented today by the Foundation’s President, Kathe Lemon, to Debby Deniset, the Annual Giving Manager of SAIT Alumni and Development. The amount of the cheque was $10,497.93 reaching a total of more than $28,500 in the endowment, which will ensure that a journalism scholarship of $1,000 a year will be given in perpetuity.

“It was through many small acts of kindness and the donations of so many people in Calgary and across the country that this was possible. We appreciate the help from all of our donors, the supporters, and the media as well as those who participate in the annual fundraising events,” says Kathe Lemon, the President of the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation. “This isn’t the most significant donation ever in terms of the absolute amount, but it is truly a huge donation in terms of the number of people who came together to make it happen and who put their thoughts into making something positive from tragedy.”

The Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation (AWBMF) was established in the summer of 2008 to honour and preserve the memory of journalist Amber Michelle Bowerman (nee Webb) who was killed in a multiple murder-suicide on May 27, 2008. The Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation is a registered charity created to help fulfill her dreams by supporting emerging artists and journalists.

“The foundation was set up with both obvious and implicit goals. We wanted to develop scholarships to support the growth of students because that was important to Amber and reflective of her own aspirations,” says Lemon. “But we also had an implicit goal to create something that would help us heal as a community and do something positive with our grief. In establishing this lasting legacy I think we’ve helped to reach both of those goals.”

Dedicated to quality in writing, reporting and the arts, Amber encouraged and supported young journalists and artists similarly committed to their own careers. Amber had studied Journalism at SAIT Polytechnic and later became the full-time Editor of the SAIT’s campus newspaper, The Weal. At SAIT, she helped lead, mentor and teach the student reporters.

Ashley Kascak was the inaugural winner of the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial journalism scholarship at SAIT in 2009.

“It meant a lot because it came at a time of my life when I was questioning if I was doing that right thing (being a journalist). It confirmed that what I was doing was right because of who she (Amber) was and what the scholarship was about,” explains Kascak. “Journalism is what I care about and it meant a lot.”

Although Kascak never met Amber, it is clear the foundation’s namesake has made a strong impression on her.

“She must have been incredible,” says Kascak. “From what I have heard and read about, she touched a lot of people and had a great heart. She was caring of others and because of that, others cared about her. And of course, she excelled in journalism too.”

Kascak is actively involved with supporting the Foundation and eagerly participates in the Foundation’s annual fundraiser, The Sugar Bowl – a recreational lawn bowling event. “I think of it as the passing of the torch and giving back. People saw something in me. It touched my heart and I want to stay connected.”

The scholarship endowment at SAIT Polytechnic is only the first accomplishment on the wish-list for the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation. Next up, the foundation will establish a similar endowment at Mount Royal University in Calgary. The foundation also plans to continue supporting the annual student writing award it has established with the Western Magazine Awards Foundation.

Donors can contribute to the registered charity online at amberbowerman.ca.

The third annual Sugar Bowl fundraiser will be held on August 27, 2011 at the Calgary Lawn Bowling Club and tickets will be for sale soon at amberbowerman.ca

“We want her legacy to continue and there is much more to still do,” says Lemon. “We want to be true to who Amber was through all of our efforts.”