By Jack Brittle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Burns Family Foundation (BFF), a scholarship for local high school students, started out as a conversation between two brothers while shovelling snow in their backyard.
Chris Burns, co-founder of BFF, elaborated on the story.
“Both of us never married or had any kids,” Burns said. “So my brother said, ‘Well, what are we going to do with all our money?’ Because we used to sock a lot of money away and invest it, so it was his idea that we should maybe start a scholarship fund, and give it to Aldershot High School. And I said, ‘Well, yeah, that sounds good.’”
The Burns Family Foundation is given out to two graduating students from Aldershot High School each year, who must write a 250-word essay describing their journey in school, including the challenges they’ve faced, the goals they’ve set, and the connections they’ve fostered within the Aldershot community. The students must also reside in Aldershot.
The winning students receive $5000 each. The recipients this year were pursuing careers in medical science and engineering, respectively.
Chris’ brother Steve died in 2022 of multiple sclerosis, and so, according to Chris, the Foundation became a tribute to him, as well as their parents, Bill and Jean.
Burns said that if his brother were still alive, “it would be him doing all that, but you know, he’s not here, so I’ve got to do it.”
He said that the foundation was mostly Steve’s idea.
Both Chris and Steve attended Aldershot High School in the late 70s and early 80s, and the neighbourhood is very important to them.
Burns spoke about why he felt inspired to direct his family’s money to supporting youth.
“The whole idea was because these kids have never made any bad decisions in life,” Burns said. “I don’t want to give my money to people that sat on a bar stool all their life and then all of a sudden claim that they’re poor and they need a handout. I don’t believe in that. So we just thought, here are kids that are doing their best, and they’ve made no bad decisions, only good ones. It’s just the idea that they’re our future, so why not give it to them?”
Burns said that the majority of his and his brother’s money came from investing in the stock market, which he encouraged this year’s recipients to do as well.
While Burns didn’t attend the award ceremony, the recipients reached out to him via email to thank him for his generosity.
He said that the award isn’t about academics, but the impact that students have made in the Aldershot community.
“It’s not based on marks or anything like that,” Burns said. “I’d like to see people in the trades get this thing, I’d like to see people in the arts get it. It doesn’t matter to me. Smart kids [already] get enough from scholarships and different stuff.”
Burns said that he is currently considering expanding BFF to other awards and charitable avenues.
“I’d like to pick something else out; it would be something to help out the Aldershot community,” Burns said. “But I’ll just wait and see.”
