Are you a young person striving to make the world a safer place? Apply for the Sarah Beth Therien Memorial Scholarship, a one-time award of $2,000 recognizing safety leaders among Canada’s youth.
The Canada Safety Council and the family of Sarah Beth Therien created the memorial scholarship in 2013 to honour the memory of Sarah Beth Therien.
Sarah Beth was a valued employee of the Canada Safety Council and a passionate advocate for children’s and traffic safety when she died of an unexpected heart arrhythmia on June 17, 2006. She was 32. Colleagues remember her as a kind and generous spirit who was always ready to help others.
Before her sudden illness, she had made her family aware of her desire to be an organ donor. But her condition was classified as a “cardiac death,” and under existing Canadian medical protocol she would not have been eligible to become an organ donor. At the time, the Canadian medical community only ccepted organ donation after brain death, for example, from strokes, injury, or trauma. When it became clear that Sarah Beth would not recover, her parents, Emile and Beth Therien, lobbied strongly to have the wishes of their daughter honoured. After their heart wrenching decision to remove life support, Sarah Beth became the first Canadian in nearly four decades to donate her organs after cardiac death.
The competition for the Sarah Beth Therien Memorial Scholarship is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are full-time undergraduate students, or graduating high school students entering a recognized post-secondary program in September 2015. To apply, write us a short essay explaining how you improve safety in your community, and complete the application form. Full instructions as well as the application form are available on our website at www.canadasafetycouncil.org. Applications will be accepted from January 31 – June 15, 2015.
The Canada Safety Council is an independent, knowledge-based, charitable organization dedicated to the cause of safety. We provide national leadership in safety through information, education and collaboration. We are Canada’s voice and resource for safety.
