About the Scholarship

The Alana James Memorial Culinary Scholarship has been generously provided by the family and friends of Mark and Alana z’l James through Jewish Family Services Vancouver (JFS) for individuals who demonstrate financial need, academic skills, and commitment to the culinary arts. Scholarships will be awarded on a case by case method based on number and eligibility of applicants, and program costs. It is anticipated that up to $14,000 will be distributed annually.

The application period for the 2024 scholarship will commence on August 1, 2024 – October 31, 2024.  All successful scholarship recipient will receive notification no later than December 15, 2024.

Please note

• If selected, you will be asked for documentation to support the information you provide:
  • Acceptance letter to an accredited post-secondary culinary program
  • Notice of tax assessment
  • Photo ID
  • Academic record and transcripts
  • Any other relevant documents

• All correspondence and scholarship agreements will be generated from the personal information submitted below. To avoid delays, please use proper spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
• Scholarship funds will be given directly to the accredited academic institution.
• Awarded funds must be used within 18 months from the receipt of the scholarship.
• There is no limit on the number of times you can submit a scholarship application during your academic journey but you can only receive the scholarship one time.
• The post-secondary program you applied for or attending has to be an accredited Canadian public-post secondary institution.
• This scholarship is intended only for an accredited culinary program.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the The Alana James Memorial Culinary Scholarship you must meet all of the following criteria:

• You are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or have refugee status.
• Planning to enroll or are already enrolled at a Canadian post-secondary institution that offers an accredited culinary program.
• Household income below $60,000.

Note: Students who meet the eligibility criteria and have a letter of acceptance to an accredited institution may be expedited.

*Please note that only fully completed applications will be considered and reviewed by the scholarship committee. If letter of acceptance to the school of choice is not available by the deadline, please include the anticipated date of confirmation.

Assessment Criteria

Applicants will be assessed on the following main criteria:

• Personal statement – How well a written submission addresses the questions (content & presentation), which will be judged by the Selection Committee.
• Community and school involvement – the details to be provided within the application form including why applicants may not have been involved in extra community and school activities.
• Financial need of applicant.
• Suitability of educational courses and preparedness of applicant.
• Any other relevant criteria.

Awarding Scholarships

Volunteer Service

• Successful scholarship recipients will be asked to provide volunteer service to JFS through JFS food service programs for a specified number of hours and type of service to be determined in consultation with JFS.
• Scholarship recipients will be asked to provide an outcome report on completion of their educational courses.

Culinary Programs

There are various culinary art programs across British Columbia you can enroll. Here is just one example:

Vancouver Community College