April 12, 2013 - 3:00am
When philanthropist Pieter de Reuver retired for the fourth time in 2005 (at age 73) he decided to devote some of his considerable energy to giving back to the Oceanside community where he’s lived since 1989. To do that, he established the Pieter de Reuver Foundation, put the word out and started accepting funding applications from local organizations.
“That first year we received applications from more than 20 different groups, many of them in the area of the arts,” says de Reuver. “It was great to be able to support so many different endeavours.
After working with those groups for a number of years, we decided to expand our scope and connect with an established organization. So, in 2009 we got in touch with VIU.”
In the first year, the Pieter de Reuver Foundation established seven $1,000 awards for VIU’s music students. The following year the Foundation increased their support with six $1,000 awards and six $1,000 bursaries, also for music students.
It wasn’t the first time de Reuver had supported musical programs having previously given funds to the music program at Kwalicum Secondary School.
Supporting the ambitions of aspiring musicians seemed a good fit for de Reuver who has had a life-long love for the piano and still plays today. “I started playing when I was 10 years old,” says de Reuver who grew up in Holland. “But, I had an awful piano teacher who slapped me on the hands when I didn’t play exactly what was written. One day I could see my friends playing outside. Suddenly she smacked my hands again and I decided then and there I was done with lessons.”
His love for music continued though, and he learned the piano on his own, playing music by ear and cultivating friendships with musicians.
However, when de Reuver realized just how much the scholarships meant to VIU’s music students, he decided the Foundation needed to do more. In celebration of the university’s 75th anniversary in 2010, he established 75 $1,000 scholarships available to students from a wide range of faculties. Wanting to ensure he was still supporting the Oceanside community, he aimed the scholarships and awards at Oceanside area students. If there weren’t any who fit those criteria then they would be open to all VIU students.
“It was a wonderful gift,” says Susie Caswell, Advancement Manager, “particularly as the scholarships and awards were created for students in many different faculties.”
VIU’s President, Dr. Ralph Nilson, agrees. “Donors like Pieter are so important to VIU. Many of our students struggle with the ever-increasing costs of education and Pieter’s donation makes a huge difference in their lives and in their ability to pursue their educational goals.”
In March 2013, students who had received awards and bursaries from the Pieter de Reuver Foundation were invited to an event where they had the opportunity to meet de Reuver and also be part of a photo shoot. More than 30 students came, many just so they could say thank you to de Reuver for his support.
“It was a really nice event,” says de Reuver. “I got a chance to speak to many of the students and really got a feeling for what this award meant to them. I know sometimes students wonder ‘who is this guy giving them money and why?’ But at events like this you can demonstrate it’s not like that. We are all in this together and supporting each other in different ways.”
The students also felt the event was a success and appreciated the opportunity to thank de Reuver in person.
“Pieter really is an amazing man,” says Diane Peloquin. She’s in her second year of a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and English. “I went back to school as a mature student and studied really hard and was getting really good grades. But, I was going through some personal challenges and found it quite hard. Getting the financial support from Pieter encouraged me to keep going, and even today it still inspires me to work hard and continue my studies despite everything. His support has really made a huge difference in my life.”
De Reuver is keen to continue his support for VIU students working on establishing the criteria for a $5,000 scholarship, as well as expanding his support into other areas, including research programs. He’s also started making plans to support students in a different way, by creating a program that will teach them how to manage money. De Reuver feels one of the biggest problems in Canadian society is that very few people understand the importance of managing their money.
“So many Canadians are in debt. We need to teach people from a young age how to manage their money,” says de Reuver. He’s been in contact with a number of different people to discuss the possibility of putting together a money management learning program for students.
This part of his philosophy ties back to the scholarships and awards he created at VIU as every student who gets an award from the Pieter de Reuver Foundation is issued a cheque rather than having the funds directly deposited into their account. “This way they actually ‘see’ the money and have to put it into their account rather than it just being deposited directly into their account.”
Along with running his foundation and planning a program to educate students on money, de Reuver periodically heads to VIU’s Nanaimo campus to attend music jam sessions with the students. He also works with other community members to plan local events and was recently part of a ‘pianorama’ in Oceanside which took place at the McMillan Centre. From 9am-9pm, 12 pianists, including de Reuver and some of the students who had received his scholarships, each played one hour of music.
So, even though de Reuver is retired for the fourth time, he’s keeping very busy, getting out in his community, giving back to that community and making the lives of many VIU students a whole lot easier.
Tags: In the Community
