B.C. developer Ryan Beedie launches scholarship foundation, pledges $50 million to start.

Ryan Beedie with wife Cindy (L) and Executive Director Martina Meckova (R)

Beedie Luminaries aims to remove barriers to higher education for students who might otherwise struggle to afford post-secondary schooling.

“There are many bright, driven young people who simply cannot afford post-secondary education,” Beedie said in a news release announcing the endeavour. “Beedie Luminaries will break down that barrier and give them a leg up so they reach their full potential.”

For the foundation’s inaugural year – which coincides with his 50th birthday – Beedie has committed $50 million to the foundation.

The foundation will award its first grants in May to 50 students from across the Lower Mainland. The grants will be worth a total of $10,000 a year for a student in a four-year undergraduate degree and $7,500 a year for a student in a two-year college or trade school diploma, said executive director Martina Meckova.

It intends, in the future, to expand to 100 students a year.

To read the rest of this story by Stephanie Ip in the Vancouver Sun, please click here.