An Award for the Grandma They Loved: The Tena Venema Memorial

Tena’s grandchildren first came together with an idea for an award to honour the grandma they remembered so fondly. Tena was a well known member of the Abbotsford community, who had dedicated her life to educate generations of young people. Nik, Myles, Joel represent 3 families of Tena’s children and they brought together the larger family to create the Tena Venema Memorial Endowment for Education Award.

In Myles’ words, ‘my grandma was an excellent educator’ who came out of retirement to help homeschool him because he was struggling in his early years of school. He is so grateful for how she changed his life and the course of his life. Spending every day with his grandma during that time, really reinforced for him, how important both education and community volunteerism were to grandma. 

When Joel first heard about the idea of an award, he knew how much giving back to community would truly honour his grandma, who lived her life in giving back to others. It was her love of, and dedication to, teaching that the family focused this award on: supporting the next generation of educators who could touch the lives of kids, just as Tena had done her whole life. They also wanted to support those who had a heart for community service, in helping others, just as their grandma instilled in them. 

It’s these 2 elements that are essential criteria in how the family reviews applicants and makes their recommendations each year. It’s the one part of the process they say is sometimes the most difficult: recommending just one applicant when there are so many deserving and amazing applications for their grandma’s award. 

Nik knew the Abbotsford Community Foundation through his own work in managing local private foundations; Myles’ wife received a number of ACF student awards that helped her fund her post-secondary education; and their knowledge and connection to ACF just made it a natural choice for them to establish Tena’s award through our student award program. For Myles and his wife, it was a full circle moment when they had the chance to present his grandma’s award to a local student during convocation season.

Tena’s award fund is endowed so it will be in place for always, for generations of future educators, keeping her legacy alive in a very real way for her family. For these young men, who have families of their own now, they say their grandma’s award is a  way to come together as a larger family, to intentionally remember their grandma, and to do meaningful work – something they know their grandma would have loved, appreciated, and felt honoured by. 

Would you and your family like to become a student award maker? Make a difference in the lives of young people today, tomorrow, & forever. Contact us to learn how you can get started with $50/month.