The CST Inspired Minds Learning Project is back with $100,000 in grants available

National competition hosted by CST Consultants Inc. helps not-for-profits fund children's programs

TORONTO, Oct. 8, 2014 /CNW/ - Calling all teachers, community leaders and advocates – the Fall 2014 CST Inspired Minds Learning Project competition has launched! Hosted by CST Consultants Inc. (CST), one of Canada's largest group RESP providers, the semi-annual competition awards a total of $200,000 in grants to not-for-profits with ideas that advance children's learning.

Get inspired by one of our past winners:

• Spooky 3D printing is happening at Bruce Junior School in Toronto! Students are learning about 3D print technology and petrifying their parents with 3D Halloween decorations all thanks to their second place award of $10,000 from the Spring CST Inspired Minds Learning Project competition.

The inaugural competition kicked off this past spring and was a great success. We received more than 150 submissions and selected 14 winners who received grants from a pool of $100,000. This fall, CST is giving away another $100,000. $20,000 will be awarded to the grand prize winner, three second place ideas will be awarded $10,000 each and five ideas will receive third place prizes of $5,000 each. There are also five category prizes of $5,000 each representing a range of learning areas.

"To give even more organizations a chance to submit ideas that will help change Canada's learning future, we increased the eligibility to programs that service children 0-17 years of age," says Martha Turner, Vice President, Marketing, CST. "As an RESP provider, we're passionate about setting kids up for success and believe it all starts with quality education programs at the community level."

Catching up with some other Spring 2014 Learning Project winners:

• Construction is well underway for the new playground at Qayqayt Elementary School in Westminster, British Columbia! Their $10,000 grant from the Learning Project has helped them build a rock climbing wall and include other outdoor features that will help children play and learn within the community.
  
  
• At Camp Ten Oaks in Ottawa, Ontario, enrollment numbers just keep climbing! The camp for LGBTQ youth was the recipient of our $20,000 grand prize in the spring Learning Project competition, and they're using the funds to expand their programs to accommodate additional campers to meet growing demands.

CST is proud to partner with a number of leading Canadian organizations as judges that will help select our category winners, including Breakfast for Learning, Learning for a Sustainable Future, SEEDS Connections, Frontier College and Culture Days.

Submissions will be accepted until October 24, 2014. To learn more about the competition timelines, rules and to submit an idea, visit http://learningproject.cst.org/ today! You can also click here to read more about our past winners.

About CST

The Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that has been helping families save for post-secondary education for over fifty years. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Foundation, C.S.T. Consultants Inc. (CST) is the distributor and fund manager of the Canadian Scholarship Trust Plans.

Focused exclusively on growing and protecting its planholders' savings, CST currently manages $4 billion in assets for over 280,000 Canadian families. CST boasts a sales force of 590 located across the country. The Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation offers its own awards for academic achievement and community engagement to those students in their Group Plans who are pursuing graduate studies.

For more information about RESPs at CST, visit www.cst.org, follow us on Twitter at @CSTConsultants and like us on Facebook.

SOURCE: CST Consultants

Media contacts: Edyta McKay, 647.242.5433, [email protected]; Erin MacFarlane, 416.602.2849, [email protected]