Our Story
The Stein Family Foundation
Encouraging and rewarding student talent and diversity.
About Us
Aaron J. Stein
President and Board Chairman
Debbie S. Stein
Vice President and Board Director
Isa B. Hosein
Secretary and Board Director
About the Students
“The reason we created the ASPIRE program was to identify kids who wouldn’t normally be candidates for a school award because, for example, their grades weren’t high enough or they weren’t the best athletes. We wanted to help identify students who were passionate about something – it could be painting, robotics, rock climbing, woodworking, writing short stories, web development, drama, whatever – and who were obviously talented and focused on turning that talent into some form of career. So we decided to create a program that would allow the people who knew the students best – teachers, guidance counsellors, principals, other students, etc. – to identify kids who might not be in the running for an existing scholarship at graduation, but deserved to be acknowledged for their accomplishments, their school efforts, their public service or their ability to overcome obstacles.”
The objective of the award is to show that talent and effort is recognized and appreciated, and to encourage students to pursue their passion through further education.
About the Schools
“Another important goal in developing the program was to find and support public schools that might not have the funding to offer this type of open-ended award on their own. We found that, in many cases, existing school scholarships were based primarily on academic standing or on a specific industry, academic study, skill or sport. And so we wanted to make this award accessible and flexible so that each school could decide how best to integrate it into their existing scholarship program every year.”
We designed the ASPIRE program to be a joint effort with participating schools.
About the Future
“Our plan for the future is to expand the program within Ontario and ultimately across Canada. The intent is to manage funding within the charity to ensure ASPIRE awards at every school continue each year. We would also like to increase the annual cash value of the award, but of course this will depend on continued funding from our family and outside donors.”
If you would like to donate, please contact us at:
donate@steinfamilyfoundation.org