An avid Sarnia volunteer is being remembered through a new scholarship fund.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Article content
Recommended Videos
Article content
Helen Van Sligtenhorst said a family friend approached her recently with a donation to set up the fund, after Van Sligtenhorst’s daughter, Sydney Vrolyk, died in September of a rare disorder, four months after a heart transplant.
“It meant so much,” Van Sligtenhorst said of the gesture.
“This (fund) will keep (Vrolyk’s) memory alive.”
The Sydney E. Vrolyk Memorial Scholarship Fund via the Sarnia Community Foundation provides $1,000 to a graduating Lambton high-schooler going on to post-secondary accessibility and inclusion studies, Van Sligtenhorst said.
The first award is expected next June, she said.
“This is a field that people have a heart for it and they want to do it based on their love of individuals with exceptionalities,” Van Sligtenhorst said, listing studying developmental services or early childhood education as examples.
Advertisement 3
Article content
Vrolyk, who volunteered at St. Giles Presbyterian Church, the St. Vincent de Paul Society and Literacy Lambton, worked multiple part-time jobs and co-founded with her sisters a Snacks for Summer program to help others in need, had Down syndrome, Van Sligtenhorst said.
She was also a Special Olympics athlete and coach, her mom said.
Hundreds turned out for her funeral, Van Sligtenhorst said.
“She was loved,” she said, adding the scholarship’s creation “means that people want to do something to remember her.”
Vrolyk, who also recently received a posthumous City of Sarnia accessibility awardneeded support in her life, and the idea behind the scholarship is to pay it forward and support others, Van Sligtenhorst said.
Advertisement 4
Article content
Hopes are to continue growing the fund and perhaps eventually offer more than one scholarship, she said.
The original donor wishes to remain anonymous, she said.
Vrolyk had a heart transplant in May and was on her way to recovery before she was hospitalized in August with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder, Van Sligtenhorst has said.
The Cleveland Clinic describes it as a rare disorder that involves white blood cells multiplying uncontrollably in transplant patients.
Vrolyk died Sept. 21.
The endowment fund is closing in on $20,000, said foundation executive director Mike Barron.
“The family has made some contributions and there have been some in the community as well,” he said.
Donations can be made at sarniacommunityfoundation.ca or by calling 519-332-2588, he said.
The goal for long-term fund sustainability is about $50,000, he and Van Sligtenhorst said.
The fund can be built up gradually, Barron said.
The Vrolyk scholarship “is really going to hopefully be a great legacy for years to come,” he said.
The foundation, which has more than 200 funds and funders, has given nearly $12 million back to the community since its founding in 1983, he said.
“It’ll be over $800,000 we’ve given back into the community this year,” he said, noting several other funds also have been set up recently.
Article content