Stories Legacy in Action / Donor Stories

Fun(d) for the Whole Family

February 17, 2020 BY: MARIANN ROBERTS

Fun(d) for the Whole Family

Connecting generations by supporting the community

Jeff and Traci DiBattista believe in equal access to education, offering a helping hand to others and bettering their community. To put their beliefs into action and to honour Jeff’s parents, David and Carolyn, they established the DiBattista Family Fund at Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF) in 2015.

“My father was retiring after nearly 30 years as a professor of psychology at Brock University in St. Catharines (Ont.),” says Jeff. “We wanted to set up a scholarship in his honour to help students and
to say thank you to my mother for the support and  love she provided to all of us over the years.”

Carolyn passed away in 2016, shortly after the scholarship program had been announced.

David and Carolyn DiBattista

The fund honours David and Carolyn’s legacy with an annual scholarship at Brock University. The scholarship awards $2,000 to a fourth-year honours student who has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement in the Psychology department.

Honouring Jeff’s parents is not the only factor that makes this fund a true family endeavour. It is also an opportunity for Jeff and Traci to share the spirit of generosity with their daughter, Alyssa, and son, Nick.

“In 2015, our Christmas gift to Alyssa Fun(d) for the whole family Connecting generations by supporting the community and Nick was the ability to make decisions each year about where the proceeds from the fund will go,” explains Jeff. “Every year, in perpetuity, each of them gets to think about and choose the cause they care about and want to support, and each directs $1,000 from the fund to charities of their choice.”

Having the whole family involved is one of the most exciting aspects of the fund, says Jeff.

“It really is the DiBattista Family Fund,” says Traci. “We want to make sure that our kids continue to be involved so that they learn a spirit of lifelong giving. And, someday, when Jeff and I are no longer able to make decisions about the fund, they can take that over and have a lot of experience with making these decisions and really keep it going. It will be a multi-generational effort.”

How the DiBattistas chose to donate their funds in 2019:

Alyssa

  • $250 Child and Adolescent Mental Health (Edmonton)
  • $250 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Toronto)
  • $500 Environmental Defence Canada Inc.

Nick

  • $250 Child and Adolescent Mental Health (Edmonton)
  • $250 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Toronto)
  • $500 Doctors Without Borders Traci and Jeff
  • YMCA of Edmonton community support programs

Our endowment funds support emerging and priority needs in the greater Edmonton community, now and for generations to come. Donate to a fund