08/01/2026
Q***r Culture Awards
$5,000 Bursary to Support the Next Generation of LGBTQ+ Leaders
**[Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada] — August 16, 2026** —
Q***r Culture will distribute its 2026 Continuing Education Bursary on August 16th, awarding $5,000 to a post-secondary student who embodies the values that have defined the organization for a decade: dedication, education, community, and the power of self.
This year's award brings the total distributed through the bursary program to over $60,000 — funds raised not by asking the community for donations, but by five individuals who built and ran the events themselves, often financing them with their own money and personal credit, and accepting real financial risk, so that every dollar earned could go straight back to q***r students. The organization has never accepted funding from city council, government grants, or any other government body — every dollar raised has come from the personal commitment of the people behind it.
Past recipients have gone on to build careers in healthcare, medical research, HIV/AIDS research, education, and writing — fields where their lived experience as q***r people has become a source of insight, empathy, and change. Each of them carries forward the same spirit that built this program: the conviction that community-funded generosity can open doors that might otherwise stay closed.
"This bursary was never just about the money," said [Erica Everitt, Q***r Culture]. "It's about telling q***r students that their education matters, that their communities are behind them, and that the work they choose to do — in hospitals, in classrooms, in research labs, on the page — is work worth investing in."
Q***r Culture marks ten years this year: ten years of learning, of defending, of teaching, and, ultimately, of incredible joy. The bursary program stands as one of the clearest expressions of that decade — proof of what a community can build when it refuses to wait for permission.
The $5,000 bursary will be awarded on August 16, 2026, to a student continuing their post-secondary education.
**About Q***r Culture**
Q***r Culture is an organization dedicated to celebrating, defending, and investing in q***r life through education, advocacy, and events. Over the past ten years, it has raised more than $60,000 for student bursaries — funded not by community donations, but by the personal investment and financial risk of the five individuals behind it, all so the money raised could go directly to q***r students. The organization has never received funding from city council or any other government body.
**Media Contact:**
kitty (Kathleen) Pitt
[email protected]
