Bright Beginnings Foundation
Established in March 2015, Bright Beginnings Foundation is a registered non-profit organization under the BC Societies Act. We are fully volunteer-operated and 99% of all donations go towards providing BBF Bursaries for our students. On our behalf, Vancity Community Foundation provides tax receipts for gifts over $20.
BBF helps some of Surrey’s most vulnerable graduating students pursue their dreams of higher education. The foundation provides full tuition, student fees (including medical benefits) and educational materials to enable students to attend the post-secondary institution and program of their choosing.
Financial hardship and stigmatization are just two of the obstacles they face. Without intervention these students will live in poverty their entire lives. The waste of that human potential, and cost to our society and community, is incalculable and unacceptable.
Looking at these 2021 statistics it is easy to become disheartened. While BBF will hardly make a dent in these numbers, it is worth noting that the difference BBF makes in the lives of individual students and their families is immense. A post-secondary education is the best way to break out of the generational poverty cycle.
(1) First Call Report Card 2021
(2) Statistics Canada Census 2021
(3) Surrey Poverty Reduction Coalition
“WE MAY NOT MEAN A LOT TO MANY BUT WE MEAN EVERYTHING TO SOME”
What makes BBF different
Most organizations that award post-secondary scholarships cover partial or full tuition and books. We do that too. But unlike others, we provide full bursaries to students who demonstrate motivation, resilience and scholastic potential. These students face unimaginable financial challenges every day. Bright Beginnings Foundation provides students with post-secondary tuition, student fees (including medical), educational materials, mentorship and an opportunity to realize a dream. Our students often report that they are the first one in their family to have the opportunity to get a post-secondary education. A BBF Bursary helps students and their families break the cycle of poverty.
Our foundation was set up through the Vancity Community Foundation. On our behalf, they issue charitable receipts for donations over $20.
People facing financial hardship every day are challenged by many barriers to success. Society’s stereotypes, as well as a lack of understanding about how to fix this complex problem, are just two of the obstacles. However, people living in poverty can, like everybody else, achieve big dreams and strive for excellence if we meet them where they are and link them to support networks. Research clearly states that making a strong connection with disadvantaged students will break through the poverty barriers. The Bright Beginnings Foundation provides students with post-secondary tuition, student fees (including medical), educational materials, mentorship and an opportunity to realize a dream. This foundation truly makes a difference for students and their families who live in poverty.
Meet Our Directors
Tammy Neuman
Tammy is a retired Kindergarten teacher for the Surrey School District. During her career she worked in both inner-city and more affluent schools. However, no matter which school she was in, she always had at least one student that came from a family who faced financial challenges every day. She did what she could to help by providing appropriate clothing and snacks, and helping to find new accommodations for struggling single moms who were facing eviction, etc. It was heartbreaking when the children came to school with a coat three sizes too small or mushy jam sandwiches day after day because they did not have a decent lunch bag. What was worse was the fact that she could see no possibility of better lives for these children and their families. When Tammy retired, she decided to do something to help families in a permanent way.
Bright Beginnings Foundation is made up of a team of hard-working, dedicated people. Together they make a positive difference in the lives of students and their families. Tammy is the founder of BBF.
Sylvia Moffatt
Sylvia was a teacher in the Surrey School District where she worked in an inner-city school. Besides teaching, she did what she could to provide nutritious meals and appropriate clothing for students and food hampers for families. While taking care of basic needs for individuals, she worked with the Anti-Poverty Committee of the Surrey Teachers’ Association. She helped organize workshops that educated teachers on the issue of poverty in their classrooms. Sylvia is co-founder and was the first to join BBF as a board member.
Stephanie Emro
Stephanie is an Educational Assistant with the Surrey School District. She has often thought about how she was able to accomplish this when the odds were not stacked in her favour. She had her son when she was in her late teens, but through the financial and emotional support of others, she was able to obtain a post secondary degree.
Stephanie has always been intrigued by the concept of paying it forward and was anxious to find a meaningful way of paying back for the kindness that she received. She was excited to hear about the Bright Beginnings Foundation. She joined the board when we were just in the conceptualizing stage of this project.
Karen Kilbride
BBF is very fortunate to have Karen as one of our directors. Karen was the first recipient of BCTF’s Bob Rosen Social Justice Award in 2014. She has worked tirelessly for women’s rights both locally and globally. She organized an annual Grade 7 girls conference in her school and worked extensively on the issue of women in polygamous communities, such as Bountiful. She is also an active member of Canadian Harambee, which supports girls in completing secondary school in Kenya and Tanzania.
Michelle Johnson
Michelle Johnson is a school counsellor in the Surrey School District. She spent most of her career teaching and counselling at inner city schools. Michelle is passionate about social justice and human rights. Michelle works daily to empower at-risk youth and to break-down barriers caused by systemic oppression. Michelle is very excited to join the Bright Beginnings Foundation Board of Directors as a means of expanding her social justice work.
June James
June is a retired secondary school teacher. She worked in inner city schools for twenty-
six years of her twenty-eight year career in the Surrey School District. Her deep concerns
about the precarious financial situations of many of her students and their families led her
to join the Surrey Teachers’ Association’s Anti-Poverty Committee. This committee
worked with Tammy and her team to help launch the Bright Beginnings Foundation. June
is proud to have been involved with BBF since its inception, and is even more pleased to
contribute to its continued success as a member of the BBF Board of Directors.
Rachel Mines
As a single parent, Rachel enrolled in Langara College’s Library Technician program in the early 1980s. She worked in university libraries for the next 15 years while raising her child and attending university part time, graduating with a BA from UBC in 1994 and an MA in 1996. She received a scholarship to study for her PhD in England, and graduated from King’s College London in 2001. After that, Rachel returned to Langara to teach in the English Department. She retired in 2020.
Rachel’s life trajectory – from struggling to make ends meet to enjoying a successful and rewarding career as a student and educator – has inspired her to help others realize the same opportunities.
