During the summer of 2020, Brock Hansler and I, John Tankard commenced working on a program to generate exposure of the CVMG to a younger audience through the support of motorcycle mechanics training.
We looked across Canada for Technical Colleges that offered certificate courses in small engine/motorcycle repair. While not common we were able to find three; Fairview College in Grande Prairie Alberta, Red River College, Winnipeg Manitoba and Centennial College, Scarborough, Ontario.
The program at each school provides for a student a bursary of $1,000 at the beginning of the school year based on need and a second award of a $1000 to be presented to a student at the end of the year based on merit. As well, each recipient of the Education Assistance Initiative program receives a CVMG membership as a 'National' section member.
While varying by college, as part of the agreements we get a direct link to the CVMG Education Initiative Program placed on their website (with a reciprocal one on ours), and the CVMG name and logo on their donor walls. Additionally, where practical for the local section (and lockdowns allowing), we can do a presentation on the CVMG for the full class, do a ride-in on vintage machines and attend at other functions at the college.
We'll be pursuing other opportunities for the club such as a press release to Canadian motorcycle journals and a broader social media presence around the program. We've heard a lot of support for this type of program from the membership and hope it stimulates activities for the sections such as ride-ins to local high schools and more displays at local events.
We believe that this small initiative will be a positive investment in the future of CVMG.
If you're interested in being more involved with the program or have ideas on how we can better get in front of the next generation of enthusiasts we can use all the help we can get. Let us know at vicepresident@cvmg.ca (John) or director_e@cvmg.ca (Brock)