Bursaries offered for former Little NHL participants
By Sam Laskaris
MISSISSAUGA – Officials from the renowned Little Native Hockey League (LNHL) tournament will once again be helping out some former participants with their post-secondary school expenses.
Applications are currently being accepted for the seven bursaries being offered this year by officials from the tourney, more commonly known as the Little NHL.
This year’s event, scheduled for Mar. 11-15, will be held in Mississauga. A record 210 youth teams will participate in the tournament, which is being hosted by the Moose Cree First Nation.
The northern Ontario First Nation, located in the community of Moose Factory, also hosted the 2017 Little NHL, which was also held in Mississauga.
This marks the fifth year the Little NHL has offered bursaries to former tournament participants.
A total of seven bursaries are being offered this year. Five of these bursaries are worth $1,000 each. A pair of $500 bursaries are also available.
The Little NHL’s four pillars are respect, sportsmanship, citizenship and education.
“It is in the spirit of these four pillars that we proudly honour and recognize our youth and their academic success with the awarding of a LNHL memorial bursaries,” said Marian Jacko, a member of the Little NHL executive committee who also spearheads the bursary program.
The five $1,000 bursaries available are named in honour after the founders of the tournament, which is celebrating its 47th anniversary this year.
They are Jim McGregor, James Debassige, Leonard Self, Norman Debassige and Earl Abotossaway.
“The memorial bursaries are named after very significant people who have made tremendous contributions to the vision, mission and success of the LNHL over the years,” Jacko said. “It is in their honour that we proudly present the bursaries to the youth in the hope that they too will be inspired to continue their education and give back to the community in years to come.”
Meanwhile, family members of the late Vicky Corbiere, a longtime member of the Little NHL executive, are offering the two $500 bursaries in her honour.
The original deadline to apply for this year’s bursaries was Feb. 16. But due to a lack of applications, officials extended that deadline to Mar. 8.
“We are trying to raise awareness of the availability of the bursaries,” Jacko said. “We have also specifically presented the bursaries during the championship games to help with raising awareness.”
In order to be eligible for a bursary, individuals must have competed in a previous Little NHL tournament.
And they must also be currently enrolled in a college or university program.
Those applying for the bursaries must include a written statement of why they are deserving to receive one. Their statement should also include the positives they received by participating in the Little NHL and how it has impacted their life and pursuit of higher education.
A pair of reference letters must also be provided. And applicants are also required to submit their most recent marks.
Bursary applications are available at www.lnhl.ca/memorial-scholarships.html
A committee comprised of Little NHL executive members and volunteers will review the applications and decide on the recipients.
Meanwhile, for the first time, the Little NHL executive committee has donated $100 bursaries to each of the seven Aboriginal institutes in Ontario.