Boys and Girls Club receives $1M donation to support youth education

Some London, Ont. youth are getting a kick-start to their postsecondary careers thanks to a major donation to the Boys and Girls Club of London.

The Edith and Donald Strupat Foundation has announced a donation of $1 million toward the club’s My Action Plan to Education - or MAP Program.

The program helps elementary and high school students prepare for their postsecondary careers.

Among the speakers at Wednesday’s event was MAP student 16-year-old Noor Hussein, who now mentors younger students himself.

“An amazing opportunity for those in London to have a better chance at a postsecondary education, or a better chance at understanding how careers are like,” he explained. “And it’s not just about the education portion in the classroom, it’s also about the social portion,” said Hussein.

Donald Strupat grew up in London during the depression. He would go on to find success in the financial sector and auto industry. Strupat Foundation director Bob Strupat, the nephew of Donald and Edith, said the goal is to provide young people opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have.

“Don’s legacy is, he would have had no future, except for the fact that he was allowed to get an education because the government provided support to veterans. And now we have some funds to take advantage of and we wanted to replicate that situation,” he said.

About 120 youth are currently registered in the MAP Program, said Boys and Girls Club CEO Chris Harvey.

“We currently see young people now that have graduated from high school, they’re having careers and graduating from postsecondary, and finding success in their community, and that’s what we really want out of this program. This donation will be vital in helping us to expand what we currently offer, and help support even more young people,” said Harvey.