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Lorraine Rae Bursary Fund
Lorraine Rae began her career as a Grade 1 school teacher for the Winnipeg School Division. (1950 to 1957.) She and husband Dr. Donald Rae lived in Portage for 38 years until moving to Victoria in 1995. Lorraine is a proud mother of four children, eleven grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Noted for her entrepreneurial and her interest in making Portage a better place to live, Lorraine is concerned with the wellbeing of all people from children to seniors.
Being a potter and seeing the need for other crafters to have a place to meet and receive training, she became one of the founding members of the Arts and Craft Guild. She joined forces with Jack Hassard from Portage Allied Arts and other key figures to pursue a building. The Portage and District Arts Centre became a reality in 1978.
Her artistic flare and her great business sense were evident when she managed a very successful business with co-owner Dorothy Walmsley. The Treasure Chest was the place to shop for unique and useful gifts for the home and cottage.
When there was an opportunity to enrich the community, Lorraine was there. In 1984, a group of citizens pursued the idea of having a meeting place for seniors and the Herman Prior Senior Service Centre was established. Lorraine became the first Executive Director in 1985 and served in this position until 1990. She spear-headed the formation of the Portage and District Heritage Inc that was founded in 1992. The Community Foundation of Portage and District Inc was established in 1994 and once again Lorraine took on the leadership role as Executive Director and Secretary of the Board of Directors. She retired from this position in 1995. The same year Lorraine and Don were jointly honoured with the Citizen of the Year Award for outstanding service to their community.
Lorraine is very supportive of the Foundation and in 1994, she and husband Donald became founding members. On Don’s passing in December 1998, Lorraine established the Dr. Donald William Rae Memorial Bursary Fund for students pursuing a career in medicine. Most recently, she has established the Lorraine Rae Bursary Fund to help students pursuing a career in the field of education. “I believe that I am my brother’s keeper,” stated Lorraine. “Sharing knowledge, wisdom or laughter has always gratified me. Now that I have morphed into “one” of the little old ladies”, it is a particular pleasure to be a small part of the gift that keep on giving.