For more than a decade, the memory of Edward and Mary Grimm has lived on in the hearts of their family and friends. That legacy will also support international students with disabilities at Cape Breton University. This past week, CBU officially launched the Edward and Mary Grimm Accessible Learning Fund. This milestone was years in the making, shaped by thoughtful planning and a decision to allow the fund to grow so it could have a meaningful impact.
The fund was initially established in 2014 following the passing of Edward Grimm, a long-serving faculty member and passionate champion of Cape Breton University. His commitment to education, community development and student success left a lasting mark on the institution's growth and values.
Together, with the memory of their mother Mary whose quiet strength and determination shaped the values of their home Edward and Mary's children, Christine Grimm, Valerie MacNeill and Mike Grimm, along with friends and colleagues, made generous contributions to the endowment in their honour.
Over the last year, through conversations between the family and Cape Breton University including the team at the Jennifer Keeping Centre they began exploring how the fund could make a lasting and focused impact. It was through these conversations that a significant gap became clear - while domestic students with disabilities in Nova Scotia have access to provincial funding for paid accommodation services like tutoring, learning strategists and note-taking services, international students with disabilities are not eligible. The Edward and Mary Grimm Accessible Learning Fund is designed to help bridge that gap providing financial assistance to international students with disabilities so they can access the learning supports they need to succeed.
"This fund will have a lasting impact on international students with disabilities, removing financial barriers and ensuring they have equitable access to learning accommodations," says Jacqueline Côté, Manager of Accessible Learning at CBU. "We are incredibly grateful to the Grimm family for their generosity and commitment to student success."
For the Grimm family, the launch of the fund is deeply personal and is a reflection of the values their parents lived every day.
"Our parents believed in the power of education to create opportunity and in the importance of quietly lifting others up. They would have been proud to see their legacy supporting students in such a meaningful and practical way," says Christine Grimm. "It means so much to our family to know that international students facing challenges will now have access to the supports they need to succeed at university."
With the fund now in place, CBU and the Grimm family look forward to seeing its impact for years to come.
For more information about the Edward and Mary Grimm Accessible Learning Fund or to contribute to its continued growth, please contact Cape Breton University's Alumni and Development Office or the Jennifer Keeping Centre.
