Friends and family of former Whistler resident Jill Ackhurst have created a legacy fund in her memory through the Community Foundation of Whistler. Jill Ackhurst died on Dec. 27, 2003 of cancer at the age of 57.
Throughout her life, Jill dedicated herself to community development, taking an intelligent, hands-on approach to resolving social justice issues. Prior to her diagnosis in October of 2003, Jill and her husband Peter were planning to set up a home for street kids in Dar Es Salaam in the African nation of Tanzania.
In Whistler, Jill was a chair for the Whistler Community Services Society, an active member of the Whistler Rotary Club, and an adult educator with First Nations groups.
The goal of the fund is to carry on her work by promoting an awareness of issues affecting the health of all communities in the Sea to Sky corridor, and to seek solutions through actions.
The initial donations to the endowment fund were made by Peter Shrimpton’s Mountain Law Corporation, Whistler Community Services Society, the Whistler Village Church, the Rotary Club of Whistler Millennium, and various anonymous donors.
"We are honoured to have been selected as the home for this legacy fund. The fund will keep Jill’s memory alive in perpetuity," said Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, CFOW president.
Additional funds will be raised by the Whistler Rotary Club to ensure that the fund will be large enough to make grants within the next five years.
An advisory committee will be created to determine social priorities before the first call for grant applications. The committee will then provide its recommendations to the CFOW on the grant proposals received.
The committee will include members from the Whistler Community Services Society, the Rotary Club of Whistler Millennium, the Whistler Village Church, the Ackhurst family and two community members at large.
Founded in 1999, the CFOW currently manages 17 funds that total over $1.9 million. The earnings on those investments are donated to projects to improve the quality of community life.
For more information or to make a donation, call 604-935-8080.
