The daughters, friends, family, and peers of Sid Williamson have generously created the Sid Williamson Memorial Award in Education at The University of Winnipeg. This fund will annually support a student majoring in education at UWinnipeg. Recipients will be individuals who come from a community that is underrepresented in post-secondary education and who demonstrates financial need. Our goal is to raise $25,000 to create an endowment in Sid’s name. Not only will this award honour Sid’s legacy by supporting a University student in need to reach their educational goals, but, we believe the recipients of Sid’s award will be inspired by her joy and passion in life and career so much that they too will become a positive force in the lives of the students they teach.
Sid lived her whole life with zest and enthusiasm. She brought that gift to everything she did. And that was a lot! Sid was a teacher, a mentor, an adventurer, a traveler, an athlete, a friend, and a confidante. She was fearless and ready to try anything. Always a giver, she had endless energy and her capacity for love knew no bounds.
While raising her three precious girls, Sid attained her education degree from The University of Winnipeg in 1994. Upon graduating she began working for Winnipeg School Division One. Her career spanned many schools and passions. She began her work in Winnipeg's inner city before she moved to a long tenure at Laura Secord School. She also spent some time teaching at Grosvenor School before returning to the inner city and King Edward School. Sidney was an innovative and wonderfully supportive teacher, always doing things for her students above and beyond her classroom duties. She loved organizing extracurricular groups for them, especially running club, and fostering learning opportunities outside of the classroom for her kids. And they were "her" kids. Sid's students all consider themselves lucky to have had her as a teacher, and she remained in touch with many of her students and their families long after they "graduated" from her class. She was deeply committed to equity and justice and to ensuring equal access to education for all young learners.
In 2018, Sid moved into a role as an Inquiry Support teacher, with her last year in the role spent at Shaughnessy Park School. This enabled her to use her knowledge and experience to help classroom teachers better support their students. She loved this work and used her own passion for learning and striving for excellence to give her very best to this new role. Sid was invited to serve with the Library of Parliament's Teachers Institute on Canadian Parliamentary Democracy, which she enjoyed immensely. Having dealt with adversity all her life, Sid remained highly adaptive throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Sid worked with her colleagues to make sure that her students and parents received breakfast deliveries along with learning packages and internet access. She had an instinctive affinity for the underdog and an unshakeable belief that we could make change in our world.
Sid shone brightly and we have lost her far too soon. Our goal with this award is that it will continue the legacy of Sid, and her passion for education and educating, by lifting-up a future educator as they work towards their degree. Undoubtedly all recipients will be inspired by the story of Sid and take a piece of Sid’s joy for life and passion into their lives and careers.
Thank you for your support!
*Our crowdfund page does not show gifts live at this time and is manually updated. Please keep checking back to see our effort grow. We apologize for this technical inconvenience.
All gifts made are tax-deductible.
If you don’t want to make a gift online, you can also send a cheque to:
The University of Winnipeg Foundation
901 - 491 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E4 Canada
*Note: Please make sure to mark your cheque for "Sid Williamson Memorial Award in Education" and your gift will be counted towards this initiative.
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Call toll-free: 1-866-394-6050