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Vimy Foundation
The Vimy Foundation is a charity focused on raising awareness of the role Canada played in World War I and the implications of Canada's success in the Battle of Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917. The Vimy Foundation was founded in 1996 by John Andrew Powell (son of Ray Edwin Powell), with support from Sir Nicholas Bonsor. Its office is located in Montreal, Canada.
The mission of The Vimy Foundation is to preserve and promote Canada's First World War legacy as symbolized by the victory at Vimy Ridge in April 1917. All activities originated by the Foundation have this aspect in mind and aim to help educate and raise awareness.
The Foundation's initial step worked to establish a student scholarship program, known as the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize. It is funded by the Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation, whereby 15-20 students ranging from 15 to 17 years of age compete to win a scholarship to Europe. This summer program allows a student group to travel overseas for a week through London and Oxford in the U.K, and a week through northern France, including towns surrounding Vimy, Dieppe, and Normandy. This is an educational trip staffed by historians and secondary school teachers. Students are mostly Canadian but include one or two from France and England. The purpose of this inter-cultural grouping lies in creating a dynamically well-rounded experience for the students, as all countries were involved in the Battle of Vimy Ridge as part of the allied forces and as well have historic ties to Canada. The Canadian scholarship recipients, in the year following their trip, address their student bodies as well as provide interviews with various Canadian press outlets and attend related functions. These activities allow the recipients to share their knowledge and experiences with a number of Canadians, and play a role in spreading awareness.
This initiative was broadened through an alliance with Encounters with Canada (Encounters). Encounters is the country's largest youth forum and is based in Ottawa. Each week a group of approximately 150 Canadian high school students, from all parts of the country, gather in Ottawa in a classroom setting to focus on a particular theme regarding Canada. There are twelve areas of focus ranging from history, arts, politics, and medicine. Encounters was inspired by what The Vimy Foundation was aiming to accomplish and proposed to create a new theme, which is labeled Vimy: Canada’s Coming of Age. This program proved a success and Encounters now runs it on the basis of two consecutive weeks surrounding the date of Vimy Ridge Day, which is April 9 of each year. Approximately 300 students from all parts of Canada participate in this program annually.
The Foundation views this program as having the largest potential in terms of raising awareness. A national survey suggested that over 2/3rds of Canadians would be prepared to wear a pin recognizing Vimy Ridge Day. The same survey underlined that less than 1/3rd of Canadians recognized what Vimy Ridge was or that it was significant, and of these a potentially large portion were not aware of the circumstances or why it was significant. The Foundation aims to have the pin recognized and worn by the majority of Canadians. The National Post newspaper dubbed the pin as "April's Poppy".
Among others, hockey commentator Don Cherry endorsed the Vimy Pin. On CBC's Hockey Night in Canada he declared “I strongly support the Vimy Pin campaign, and I believe all Canadians should proudly wear the pin every April 9th.”
In 2012, the Cadets of Ontario received permission to include the Vimy Pin as part of their uniform, and approximately 20,000 of these cadets now wear this pin as part of their attire. Efforts are being made to expand this permission nationally, where approximately 150,000 cadets could be expected to include the pin as part of their uniform. For the past four years all Canadian Members of Parliament have worn a Vimy Pin on April 9, Vimy Ridge Day, in the House of Commons. Last year, several alumni of the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize were invited to the Prime Minister's Office to present Prime Minister Stephen Harper with a pin.
General Rick Hillier, former head of The Canadian Military and Canada's Chief of Defense Staff, became Honorary Chairman of The Vimy Foundation in 2008.
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Vimy Foundation
The Vimy Foundation is a charity focused on raising awareness of the role Canada played in World War I and the implications of Canada's success in the Battle of Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917. The Vimy Foundation was founded in 1996 by John Andrew Powell (son of Ray Edwin Powell), with support from Sir Nicholas Bonsor. Its office is located in Montreal, Canada.
The mission of The Vimy Foundation is to preserve and promote Canada's First World War legacy as symbolized by the victory at Vimy Ridge in April 1917. All activities originated by the Foundation have this aspect in mind and aim to help educate and raise awareness.
The Foundation's initial step worked to establish a student scholarship program, known as the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize. It is funded by the Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation, whereby 15-20 students ranging from 15 to 17 years of age compete to win a scholarship to Europe. This summer program allows a student group to travel overseas for a week through London and Oxford in the U.K, and a week through northern France, including towns surrounding Vimy, Dieppe, and Normandy. This is an educational trip staffed by historians and secondary school teachers. Students are mostly Canadian but include one or two from France and England. The purpose of this inter-cultural grouping lies in creating a dynamically well-rounded experience for the students, as all countries were involved in the Battle of Vimy Ridge as part of the allied forces and as well have historic ties to Canada. The Canadian scholarship recipients, in the year following their trip, address their student bodies as well as provide interviews with various Canadian press outlets and attend related functions. These activities allow the recipients to share their knowledge and experiences with a number of Canadians, and play a role in spreading awareness.
This initiative was broadened through an alliance with Encounters with Canada (Encounters). Encounters is the country's largest youth forum and is based in Ottawa. Each week a group of approximately 150 Canadian high school students, from all parts of the country, gather in Ottawa in a classroom setting to focus on a particular theme regarding Canada. There are twelve areas of focus ranging from history, arts, politics, and medicine. Encounters was inspired by what The Vimy Foundation was aiming to accomplish and proposed to create a new theme, which is labeled Vimy: Canada’s Coming of Age. This program proved a success and Encounters now runs it on the basis of two consecutive weeks surrounding the date of Vimy Ridge Day, which is April 9 of each year. Approximately 300 students from all parts of Canada participate in this program annually.
The Foundation views this program as having the largest potential in terms of raising awareness. A national survey suggested that over 2/3rds of Canadians would be prepared to wear a pin recognizing Vimy Ridge Day. The same survey underlined that less than 1/3rd of Canadians recognized what Vimy Ridge was or that it was significant, and of these a potentially large portion were not aware of the circumstances or why it was significant. The Foundation aims to have the pin recognized and worn by the majority of Canadians. The National Post newspaper dubbed the pin as "April's Poppy".
Among others, hockey commentator Don Cherry endorsed the Vimy Pin. On CBC's Hockey Night in Canada he declared “I strongly support the Vimy Pin campaign, and I believe all Canadians should proudly wear the pin every April 9th.”
In 2012, the Cadets of Ontario received permission to include the Vimy Pin as part of their uniform, and approximately 20,000 of these cadets now wear this pin as part of their attire. Efforts are being made to expand this permission nationally, where approximately 150,000 cadets could be expected to include the pin as part of their uniform. For the past four years all Canadian Members of Parliament have worn a Vimy Pin on April 9, Vimy Ridge Day, in the House of Commons. Last year, several alumni of the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize were invited to the Prime Minister's Office to present Prime Minister Stephen Harper with a pin.
General Rick Hillier, former head of The Canadian Military and Canada's Chief of Defense Staff, became Honorary Chairman of The Vimy Foundation in 2008.