The year 2009 gave us a summer to remember.
From wag-the-dog politics, wacky weather to worrisome crime, we saw a plethora of badness dominate the headlines in B.C. which made us wonder, what our world is coming to.
So many of the people we grew up with also died this summer.
There was Michael Jackson, David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and most lately Sen. Edward M. Kennedy to name a few.
But through this all one story stood out.
It was a story of triumph over adversity.
A story that makes us proud to be Canadian.
A story that enshrines the nation’s values of the ‘haves’ helping the ‘have nots’.
It is the story of Dean Duperron, the president of the venerable 106-year old Sprott Shaw Community College, BC’s oldest post secondary institution
Amidst the mayhem of the summer of ’09, Duperron reached into his disturbed past to make a future for 10 people around the world with a generous of gift worth $1million.
The unassuming, 53-year-old was once a street kid, who fled his abusive father, lived on construction sites and went for days living on one-cent candies.
He did not resort to crime and when life gave him the opportunity; Duperron grabbed it to become what he is today – a father and a businessman, who oversees a $50 million dollar educational empire that trains up to 4,500 students per year with campuses here, in the Philippines, Jamaica, Alberta, Jordan, Trinidad and China.
It is however, his philanthropy called Class Act Canada, which brought some much needed relief from the torrent of bad news we had been inundated with.
We will not go into his story or the components of Class Act Canada here, all of which has been carried around the world and coast-to-coast in Canada and details of which can be found elsewhere in this newspaper.
Suffice to say that his program will be giving a life-changing chance to students from Canada to Cambodia to Peru to the Philippines.
“I believe with the opportunity to become educated, an individual who is living in poverty or with extreme challenges has a door opened to not only change their own life but to change an entire community,” Dupperon said.
We are not alone in thinking Duperron’s Class Act Canada was the feel good story of the summer.
Here is a sampling of what others are saying;
“This article (a story on Class Act Canada in The Province) should be an inspiration to us all to remember the tough times we’ve had and help those who may need a helping hand,” wrote eyedoc , on the newspaper’s website.
“This offer of generosity is not seen often enough in today’s world. It is always a great thing when the have gives to the have not,” wrote Keith on the same reader website.
A CBC viewer wrote “a fantastic way to give back to the community.”
But perhaps the most touching feedback, Duperron said he has received is: “Thank you, sir”
Duperron is already looking at getting other institutions locally to participate in Class Act Canada and showcase B.C. as not only the best place to live but the best place to learn.
For what he is doing, we all owe Dean Duperron a thank you.