Each year, the Coombs Farmers' Institute offers a bursary of $3,000 to Parksville Qualicum Beach area high school graduates who pursue post-secondary education in areas related to agriculture/food production.
Other goals of local community service such as nursing, physical rehabilitation, family counselling and early childhood education are also given consideration.
This year, there were two bursaries awarded. The first to Ballenas Secondary graduate Naia Kroeker, who is enrolled in a program at Olds Agricultural College in Olds, Alta. The second is KSS graduate Hannah Beatty, who is currently enrolled in a three-year veterinary technician program at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops.
The Coombs Farmers' Institute puts all the proceeds of their events such the upcoming Seedy Sunday (this year on March 30) and their annual farm auction (this year on April 12) into funding these bursaries for local graduates.
