Campaign Raised More than $31K for Indigenous Education

September 24, 2025

Personal connection to Alvin Dixon revealed in serendipitous encounter during run/walk in Calgary on August 10

Alvin William Dixon (1937–2014), a respected Heiltsuk First Nation Elder, was taken from his family at age 10 to the Alberni Indian Residential School on Vancouver Island, where he survived years of abuse. Eventually, he enrolled at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, as one of six First Nations students at the school. A respected leader, he advocated for Indigenous education.

Throughout his life, Alvin quietly worked(opens in a new tab) behind the scenes to improve the lives of First Nations people in many areas, including those involved in the First Nations fisheries and First Nations youth. Alvin raised awareness about the experiences of Indigenous children in residential schools in his role with the B.C. Indian Residential School Survivors Society.

To preserve his legacy and carry forward his life’s work, The United Church of Canada established the Alvin Dixon Memorial Bursary Fund(opens in a new tab), which supports Indigenous students seeking or enrolled in post-secondary education. Every three years, the Alvin Dixon Memorial Run/Walk(opens in a new tab) is held during General Council to honour Alvin.

On August 10, United Church walkers, rollers, and runners took to Calgary streets in the triennial event to raise funds for the bursary. About 40 walkers and runners onsite in Calgary, as well as those across the country, participated in raising the most funds in the history of the event: more than $31,000! This was also more than three times the amount raised in any previous year. Thank you to the 480 donors and 43 registered participants across 11 teams who helped make that happen.

The bright orange shirts emblazoned with the words “Alvin Dixon Run/Walk” on the back caught Heather Bensler’s(opens in a new tab) eye as she biked the riverfront path in Calgary on that Sunday morning. Alvin Dixon and her father were classmates at the Port Alberni District High School. Although Alvin was a close family friend, she had never heard of the Alvin Dixon Run/Walk.

Bensler, associate professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary, promptly texted her dad, picked up two of the shirts, and made a donation to the bursary. In this video(opens in a new tab) , she notes settlers must commit to the work of moving forward and carrying out the calls to action outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Report.

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