Estate of Charles Edgar Young

Planned Giving Spotlight

Estate of Charles Edgar Young

Lifelong Alberta rancher, Charles Edgar Young, had many passions — two of which included rodeo and education. Before he sadly passed away in 2017, Young ensured his passions would be passed onto future generations through the Rodeo team at Olds College.

Starting in 2020, the College’s Rodeo department has graciously received funding from the Estate of Charles Edgar Young to offer entrance and recruitment scholarships, as well as purchase new training equipment, such as a Smarty roping and bucking machine for training purposes.

“Funding from the Estate of Charles Edgar Young has been instrumental in enhancing the Rodeo and Trades programs at Olds College, giving us the opportunity to build stronger, more well-rounded students and teams,” said Guy Kelley, Head Rodeo Coach at Olds College. “These programs have significantly improved since receiving the funding and we’re so proud of our students’ growth because of it.”

While he had no prior relationship with Olds College, Young understood the College’s important role in the community and wanted to give students the opportunity to discover their own passion for rodeo, learning a skilled trade to further their education.

“When you have higher quality athletes, word spreads,” says Kelley. “Years before, the College would have been overlooked for bigger post-secondary institutions, but now, students are choosing us. Seeing the success of my students and their growth is my favourite part of working here.”

Dan Daley, Dean of the School of Trades at Olds College, looked forward to receiving funding from the Estate of Charles Edgar Young this past year. A portion of funding was directed to student financial aid and the remainder helped improve the student learning environment by updating props — such as precision farming, air brake systems, transmissions and steering boxes — to stay current in the industry. Daley’s hope is that through this new funding, the College will provide an overall better learning experience for the students with even more hands-on engagement.

“We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Estate of Charles Edgar Young so our students can receive scholarships and bursaries, giving them the opportunity to attend Olds College when they otherwise may not have been able to,” Daley adds. “We’re really thankful to the Estate, as it’s no doubt been a positive experience for our students.”

Student Awards

In 2021, Olds College disbursed over $500,000 to students from scholarships, bursaries and prizes. We are very grateful to our many award donors for their generous support of our students!