In 1979, members of the then MONA Workplace 10 approved a motion to establish an Education Trust Fund with monies accumulated from rebates from the Unemployment Insurance Commission (now the Employment Insurance Commission). After much discussion, the members of the Executive (Mary Lynn Brookes, Beth Ritchie (now Brunsdon Clark), Laurie Curtis (now Moser), Kaye Freskiw, Leslie Walsh, Barry Bradley, Linda Newton, Roberta Lowry, Lesley Carrington and Sandy Linton developed a proposal to use the accumulated funds to set up a trust fund that would be used to support nurses who wished to pursue further education. The motion was approved by a two-thirds majority of the membership. The concept of the fund received a letter of commendation from the Commission with comments about the creativity and uniqueness of the idea.

During the development of the proposal, the Executive engaged in “some dreaming” about what this Fund could do and what it would look like in the future. With 30 years of experience, the current Board has taken the opportunity to compare the reality of the history with the dreams of 1979. The dream of supporting nursing education of all types has certainly been realized. Hundreds of Workplace 10 members have attended specialty conferences around the world, obtained education and certification in a wide variety of nursing specialties and achieved further formal nursing education at college or university. We are proud to say we have supported a nurse from our Local in obtaining her doctorate in nursing science.

We believe the dream of supporting nurses in their pursuit of further education of the widest variety, has truly been realized. The other part of the “dream” in 1979 was to have a fund that was sustainable in the event the rebate from the Employment Insurance Commission ended; the executive back then hoped someday the principal would reach $500,000.00. The Fund was established with $106,000.00 the amount that accumulated over several years. With the continued financial support of the rebate form the Employment Insurance Commission, wise and prudent investing and a generous donation from Workplace 10 of the Manitoba Nurses Union, we are proud to report that this goal has been met.

The current board of the Education Trust Fund would like to acknowledge the vision and responsible stewardship of previous Board members and Administrators. Their wisdom and hard work has meant the members of Workplace 10 will be able to access support for their professional development for many years to come.