By Curtis Galbraith

$20-million by 2020 the goal for GPRC’s Vital Campaign

Nov 1, 2018 | 6:15 PM

Grande Prairie Regional College has publicly launched an ambitious fundraising endeavour.
 
The Vital Campaign’s goal is collecting $20-million dollars by 2020. Of that, $18-million is already in place.
 
GPRC President Don Gnatiuk says donors get to decide how the money is spent.
 
“So where the donor thought there was value, that’s where the donor made the investment. In some cases, it was in health, such as in (Seven Generations Energy’s) case. Others put it towards student support, some of it went to capital investment, some of it went to mental health. It was spread across the board, so it was kind of a donor pay, donor say kind of a campaign.”
 
Seven Generations Energy pledged $1-million at a public launch held in front of a crowd of 70 people Thursday afternoon at the Douglas J. Cardinal Performing Arts Centre. President and CEO Marty Proctor says his company wants to help the community.
 
“We’ve been talking quite a bit as a company how we can get more of our people up here in Grande Prairie and what better way to than to get them educated here, have them get to know this community and love it like we do and want to stay here to fulfill their career ambitions. We’re keen on working with the College to continue to help them be even more successful.”
 
Doug Morris and Bridget Hennigar are the campaign’s co-chairs. Hennigar says many things, people for one, make the college vital to the community.
 
“It’s the enthusiasm for our region and for what we can achieve here in the north. All of those things are just vital to the very essence of us.”