A scholarship partnership wants to fulfill inner-city students' dreams of becoming chefs and one day cover the tuition of every single inner-city student. 

Westland Foundation has partnered with Carbone restaurant and will award their first-ever scholarship for Culinary Arts. John Prystanski, President and founder of the Westland Foundation and past City councillor for Point Douglas, created the foundation to provide scholarships for inner-city Winnipeg students and provide them with an opportunity to go to university or college.

Since 2009, Westland has awarded over 1,000 scholarships totalling over $553,500.

"We've created the Westland Carbone scholarship. We're awarding scholarships to students who are in the culinary arts program at Red River College (RRC) that are from the inner-city students and have an interest in becoming master chefs. We came together and it became a perfect match," Prystanski says. 

"We want to make sure that they have every opportunity, every door open for them."

The Westland Foundation believes that this demographic is falling under the radar and it's time that changed. "For the last six years, only about seven students from the inner-Winnipeg have gone to RRC for a Culinary arts degree," Prystanski says.

It about more than just culinary arts degrees to Prystanski. It's about every single field becoming a possibility. "What we are trying to do is to encourage and form partnerships with as many different people in as many different industries to encourage more students to go into their particular field of interest," Prystanski says.

"Education is the way of the future.

"We want to make sure that they have every opportunity, every door open for them because we want to help change their lives in a positive way. By doing that, we are going to help change those neighbourhoods which will ultimately help and change Winnipeg into a better place," Prystanski says. 

"Our goal is to be able to fund every single inner-city student in post-secondary education. That number is about 55 million dollars."

On November 6,2019, Westland Foundation and Carbone Restaurants will award Carbone's first scholar Carmela Bianca Mayoralgo.

Mayoralgo has a passion for cooking. She is inspired by her father, who is a nursing home cook. Her passion is not enough to cover her high tuition and equipment costs. Westland and Carbone, are helping her pursue that passion with this scholarship.

It has helped pay off her student loan and work towards her dream of owning a restaurant someday. Mayoralgo is in her second year at the RRC for culinary arts.

Westland Foundation has grand ideas on how to make a difference through education. "Right now between grades 7-12, there's 5,000 inner-Winnipeg students. Annually, there are several hundred students graduating within the foundation boundaries. So, if we can provide a full-tuition for them we are by far on the way to changing their lives and Winnipeg.

"Our goal is to be able to fund every single inner-city student in post-secondary education. That number is about 55 million dollars...we're working on it. If we are going to make social change for the better, we need to be ambitious and positive and not shy away from undertaking large endeavours," Prystanski says.