Scholarship Value $5,000

Number of Scholarships 8

All connected with the Workers Health & Safety Centre are committed to education in the workplace and beyond. To this end the WHSC has long offered student scholarships for post-secondary education.

Funds for these scholarships are raised from The Clifford Pilkey Memorial Golf Fundraiser in honour of our late founder and first WHSC President.

This annual scholarship contest aims to raise health and safety awareness among graduating Ontario high school students who are headed for post-secondary education—a segment of the workforce who face excessive and significant occupational hazards leading to work-related injuries and deaths.

Student applicants are asked to produce a video, design a poster or write an essay exploring an occupational health and safety topic, submit a profile outlining their volunteer activities aimed at improving the lived experiences of fellow students and/or members of their community both in their own words and in a letter of recommendation from a teacher, other educator or representative of a community organization. Students who best demonstrate an understanding of the occupational health and safety topic chosen for this year’s contest through their submissions, along with consideration of school and community volunteerism, will be awarded much-needed funds for post-secondary education.

The top applicant (regardless of medium) will be awarded the Clifford Pilkey, WHSC Founder Memorial Scholarship and receive $6,000. The second-place applicant (regardless of medium) will be awarded the Fred Upshaw, Champion for Social Justice Memorial Scholarship and receive $4,000. Up to two additional successful applicants in each medium category will receive $2,000 each.

Submission Requirements

Forward the following documents/information in one email to Sandy Warden  swarden@whsc.on.ca

1. Application form in PDF format.
2. Description of your volunteer activities showing how you are helping to improve the lived experiences of your fellow students and/or community members in PDF or Word format (max. 400 words)
3. Letter of recommendation in PDF or Word format.
4. Depending on your submission:
   • video submission uploaded to WeTransfer (https://wetransfer.com)  email to swarden@whsc.on.ca.
   • attach your essay to the email, or
   • if you are submitting a poster, you can attach it to the email or mail a hard copy of your poster and tell us in the email that you have posted it.

Please mail to: Workers Health & Safety Centre, Attn: Sandy Warden

675 Cochrane Drive, Suite 710, East Tower

Markham, ON L3R 0B8

Must be post-marked by Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

Please add WHSC Student Scholarship Competition to the subject line of the email.