A grant to McMaster University’s Let’s Talk Science! partnership supported students from at four Hamilton elementary schools to care for and hatch Atlantic salmon eggs in their classrooms over the winter, and then to re-introduce the fish into the Lake Ontario watershed.  Once a keystone species, these fish were eradicated from the lake in the late 1800s.  This program enables children to learn about the vital role they can play in protecting the environment.

 

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Laurie S. Connon Fund

Laurie Connon has been on the receiving end of a stranger's generosity, she explains, and she simply wants to return the favour. To that end, Miss Connon has established a fund for a scholarship supporting promising young musicians. Music, singing in particular, has been her lifelong passion.

Now retired, Miss Connon clearly recalls and still appreciates the generosity of others when hardship hit her family during the Depression when her father lost his business. "I was 10 or 11 at the time and we had no money. I don't know who it was but someone paid for me to attend a YWCA summer camp. The experience meant a lot to me which is why I also contribute to the Foundation's summer camp fund."

Another benefactor stepped forward to encourage her singing talent. In lieu of payment for lessons, the teacher accepted a hedge for her garden from the family's business. Still others' mentoring efforts helped her achieve a teaching degree in singing and she now wants to help foster the dreams of some other young musicians. Miss Connon's gift will become a component of the Lee Hepner Fund which provides encouragement to talented young people competing in the Hamilton Kiwanis Music Festival.