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A gift of $750,000 from TD Bank Financial Group will help open the door to university for marginalized high school students and encourage the inclusion of women and visible minorities in the financial sector workplace.

President Sheldon Levy accepted the gift Monday from TD President and CEO Ed Clark, at a ceremony that also honoured a well-known figure in the Canadian financial world.

The event paid tribute to Don Drummond, who retired from his position as TD's chief economist this month. The gathering recognized Drummond's advocacy for accessible education, TD's support for a successful program underway at Ryerson and the bank's commitment to help launch another important initiative.

"This gift is about creating opportunities for marginalized youth, women, and visible minorities," Levy said. "We thank our friends at TD for their generosity and their recognition of the important role that Ryerson plays in reaching at-risk communities and enabling success."

"A good education is essential in a modern economy. That's why making sure everyone has an opportunity to access post-secondary schooling should be a huge priority for leaders in both the public and private sector," said Ed Clark, TD's president and CEO. "Ryerson's initiatives will make a big impact. We're proud to invest in them, and are confident they will produce meaningful results."
       
The donation will be directed in part to Road to Ryerson, a program that gives high school students who "just missed" getting into Ryerson a second chance. The program helps students identify what they need to meet Ryerson's admissions standards. Students then do a "victory lap" at high school to upgrade their marks and are guaranteed admission when they meet these requirements. Road to Ryerson is part of Spanning the Gaps, a program created by Rona Abramovitch, outreach and access advisor at Ryerson and recent recipient of the YWCA Woman of Distinction for Education award.

For Nadia (not her real name), the Road to Ryerson program has helped turn despair and disappointment into hope and opportunity. From the day she and her family arrived in Canada, Nadia wanted to be a nurse. As the eldest of six girls, she had a difficult time convincing her family of the importance of post-secondary education. She believed that if she did not succeed it would bring shame to her family and restrict the educational opportunities for her sisters.

Two years ago she applied to university but was not accepted. She applied a second time with the same result. By then her father had moved away with some of her sisters and her mother was returning to their native country. With support from Road to Ryerson, Nadia upgraded her marks and gained confidence through the knowledge that there was a place for her in university. She held on to her dream and applied to nursing for a third time. In September, Nadia will begin her studies at Ryerson's Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing.

TD's gift will also support Workplace Diversity, an initiative through the Ted Rogers School of Management Diversity Institute. The Diversity Institute develops strategies to promote inclusive workplaces and to enhance the talent pipeline. Workplace Diversity will build approaches to encourage and support the inclusion of women and visible minorities in the financial sector workplace. Working with financial service professionals, the initiative will create programs for teachers in marginalized neighbourhoods. The project is being developed under the leadership of Wendy Cukier, associate dean, academic, Ted Rogers School of Management and founder, Diversity Institute.

TD Bank Financial Group is a long-time supporter of Ryerson University, providing hundreds of thousands of dollars in student financial aid for more than two decades.