Scholarships & Awards
Note: Candidates who qualify for both are encouraged to apply for both the bursary and scholarship.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Ade Adegbite Memorial Scholarship
The Ade Adegbite Memorial Scholarship recognizes students with epilepsy who have overcome barriers and who continue to demonstrate resilience in coping with the challenges of epilepsy. Two scholarships of $1500 each will be awarded to assist students with epilepsy to achieve their academic goals. One of the two awards will be reserved for students completing high school in 2024.
Candidates must demonstrate their determination to overcome challenges related to epilepsy. Academic strength, community involvement, educational goals, communication skills, and epilepsy advocacy will also be considered.
Deadline to apply: End of day, Monday, May 13, 2024.
The Ade Adegbite Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to candidates:
- Be a person living with epilepsy
- Be aged 17 or older
- Be a Canadian citizen, Protected Person or Permanent Resident of Canada
- Be a resident of Toronto or planning to attend school in Toronto or be an Epilepsy Toronto member
- Be enrolled in or accepted for full-time or part-time post-secondary studies in a college, university, accredited profession or apprenticeship training institution (part-time students must be completing at least one course each semester)
- Cannot be related to any member of Epilepsy Toronto’s Board of Directors or staff
About Ade
The scholarship is dedicated to the memory of Ade Adegbite, a remarkable young woman who would not allow the challenges that epilepsy presented to prevent her from achieving her goals. An excellent student, Ade studied at the University of Toronto, Scarborough, was fluent in French, and completed teachers college, all while actively volunteering in the community. She worked enthusiastically to educate others about the challenges faced by people living will epilepsy. She supported the work of Epilepsy Toronto as an educator, spokesperson, and fundraiser.
If you would like to make a donation to the Ade Adegbite Memorial Scholarship Fund please visit our donation page and choose “Ade Adegbite Memorial Scholarship” from the dropdown ‘Fund’ list. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.
H.O.P.E. AWARDS
Helping Out People with Epilepsy (H.O.P.E.) Award
This award is given to individuals or organizations that have done outstanding work to support people living with epilepsy; have spearheaded advancements in epilepsy care or have led groundbreaking research in epilepsy.
In recognition of their years of dedicated advocacy, a H.O.P.E. Award was presented to Grace Fellowship Church on Sunday, March 17th, 2024 at their 10th annual Epilepsy Awareness Month event.
Grace Fellowship Church, under the leadership of Bishop Cadmore Lewis, has gone above and beyond to make their congregation member, and Epilepsy Toronto member, Wendy Morris, feel safe and accepted. Their annual Purple Day event features speakers sharing their experiences living with epilepsy, education on epilepsy and what to do if someone has a seizure. This event has helped raise awareness and understanding throughout their community.
They haven’t stopped there. They have also raised thousands of dollars to support our services and actively participated in our Purple Walk for years. Their dedication has not gone unnoticed, and we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the congregation of Grace Fellowship Church and Bishop Cadmore Lewis for their invaluable contributions to our cause.
In November 2023, Dr. Evan Lewis was presented with a H.O.P.E award for his leadership in establishing the Virtual Rapid Access Epilepsy Clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, people affected by seizures in our community were struggling to access care more than ever. His clinics delivered quick turnaround specialist care to hundreds across the province and connected more people to local epilepsy agencies for community support than we had ever before experienced.
Dr. Evan Cole Lewis is a Neurologist and Clinical Neurophysiologist with expertise in pediatric neurology and epilepsy. He is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Pediatrics at the Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto. He is the founder & medical director of the Neurology Centre of Toronto (NCT) and has clinical experience and a special interest in psychedelic medicine and medical cannabis in the treatment of neurological conditions in adults and children. He is a strong advocate for the use of virtual medicine to reach the underserved areas of Ontario, Canada.
BURSARY
This bursary is currently on hiatus for 2024. The 2023 Michele Edwards Bursary was awarded to Catherine Dume; congratulations Catherine and thanks to all the outstanding applicants.
Michele Edwards Bursary
This bursary aims to encourage and support women with epilepsy who have faced discrimination. The $800 bursary is awarded annually to a candidate to further their education and/or their career goals; whether that be in a full-time or part-time program, workshop, extra-curricular class or pursuing a career.
Michele faced many challenges in life as a result of her epilepsy, but she experienced additional barriers as a woman of colour. In acknowledgement of those additional barriers, the Michele Edwards bursaries will be awarded to a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous or people of colour) candidate.
There is currently no information regarding upcoming bursaries. Please sign up to receive our ENews for updates.
The Michele Edwards bursary is awarded to candidates:
- Who identify as female;
- Who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or person of colour)
- Who live with epilepsy;
- Whose quality of life is significantly impacted by epilepsy;
- Who are in financial need and would make good use of the bursary;
- Who, despite the challenges they face, are ambitious and show great initiative and determination in pursuing their education and/or career goals;
- Who have faced adversity or discrimination, whether it be because of their epilepsy, race, gender or sexuality;
- Who live in or are planning to attend school in Toronto, or are an Epilepsy Toronto client.
About Michele
Whether it was running track or playing piano, Michele was always determined to excel. Inspired to study law and advocate for others, she took her college to the Human Rights Commission after facing discrimination by her instructors in the classroom and forced her school to create new policies to accommodate people with disabilities. Michele passed away in December 2013 after a lengthy illness. This bursary was established with love by her husband Peter Boisseau, her children and her family to honor her legacy. Hear about Michele’s amazing life story, the latest research on music and epilepsy, and the podcast it inspired in the Sounds Interesting podcast episode Mozart & Michele, wherever you get your podcasts!
If you would like to make a donation to the Michele Edwards Bursary Fund please visit our donation page and choose “Michele Edwards Bursary” from the dropdown ‘Fund’ list. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.
PAST RECIPIENTS
HOPE Award
2024: Grace Fellowship Church
2023: Warren Toaze (aka Maz T. Oz) & Dr. Evan Cole Lewis
2022: Monica Diaz-Greco
2021: Michael Alex
2019: Dr. Taufik Valiante and Black, Cassels & Graydon LLP
2018: Dr. Carter Snead and The Ontario Brain Institute
2017: Dr. Lila Georgevich, Kay Leslie and the Thompson family
Ade Adegbite Scholarship
2023: Luke Jan & Gloria Pickersgill
2022: Matthew Karam & Isabella De Sousa
2021: Hannah Gray & Don
2019: David Suthern, Denisa Radut & Victoria Cowie
2018: Isabelle Lepage
Michele Edwards Bursary
2023: Catherine Dume
2022: Radhika Prabhune & Rachel Arnold
2021: Ashley Hunt
2019: Kirsten Huber & Nazanin Babaie
2018: Keerthana Naniah & Renae Alleyne
2017: Michelle Buckland & Amanda Kelly