Shane Scott isn’t famous. He isn’t a grey-haired Edmontonian who’s earned millions. But he wants to create an endowment that will benefit LGBTQ2S+ students for years to come.
In conjunction with the Edmonton Community Foundation, the Shane Scott Pride Fund is aimed to provide bursaries to kids who have left home to go to school, and don’t have traditional family supports. With June being Pride Month, Scott is amplifying his call for funding, An Instagram account will reinforce the fund’s visibility.
Scott, born in the United States, grew up in Calgary. But he moved to Edmonton to go the University of Alberta.
“I myself chose to leave home and go to school in another city to find myself.”
He graduated in 2018. He says that his experience isn’t different from many other gay students; we like to think of ourselves as an enlightened society, where gay and trans rights are respected. But, in truth, there are still many stories of kids wanting to leave home or being kicked out of their houses when they come out. Scott says LGBTQ2S+ students are more likely to take on student loans and go into debt than straight students.
“The truth is many of us leave home willingly, because we need to be on our own, or are forced to move out,” he says.
Scott is hoping to raise $10,000 for what he jokingly calls the “Baby Gay Award.” And, as is this is set up to be an endowment and not a one-time award, the idea is that once the ball is rolling, there will bursaries available for LGBTQ2S+ students in need for years to come.
