Memorial scholarship fund captures spirit of siblings
Whether it was Kristin’s magnetic smile or love of animals, or Robbie’s fondness for music and computers, friends and family will always remember the Schaldemose siblings and the strength and optimism they shared in their fight with Cystic Fibrosis – the disease that took Robbie in 2003 at age 22 and Kristin in 2006 at 21.
Khalie Lasuik and Allison Shiach, friends of the Schaldemose family since grade school, have their own fond memories – birthday parties, Kristin’s joy the day her family got its first dog, sleepovers with lots of practical jokes, riding in the Mustang that the Robbie and Kristin shared, and lots of others.
“Kristin’s laugh remains in my mind more than anything,” says Lasuik. “She had a contagious laugh. She never tried to hold back her laughter. It would fill a room.”
Now, Lasuik and Shiach are helping to ensure that Kristin and Robbie will not only be remembered forever, but even more people will be touched by their story. They’ve established the Kristin and Robbie Schaldemose Memorial Fund at The Winnipeg Foundation, a scholarship to benefit students at Fort Richmond Collegiate, the school from which they all graduated.
“It was a really big accomplishment for them to graduate from FRC, because they had so much more on their plates than average teenagers” says Shiach. She and Lasuik are working with the school’s administration to establish criteria for recipients, but the scholarship will likely be awarded annually to a student who has experienced challenges during their high school years, while remaining positive and contributing to the school community – as both Kristin and Robbie did.
The siblings battled the disease – which attacks the lungs and other organs – all their lives. As they completed high school and entered university, and even as their health deteriorated, both were determined to maintain normal relationships and protect their friends from the physical pain and difficult times they faced.
“They were very strong for their friends and for all the people around them. They didn’t ever burden anyone else with what they were going through, and they were always going through so much,” says Shiach.
“They wanted us to just be friends and not worry about their struggles,” remembers Lasuik. Even as Kristin coped with Robbie’s funeral a week before her grade 12 graduation, she insisted that friends not focus on her loss, but rather on their upcoming celebration.
“She was never looking for support, she was always giving it,” says Shiach.
“Robbie and Kristin were very close,” adds Lasuik. “They got strength from each other through it so it was really hard for her to lose him.”
Both Lasuik and Shiach have seen that same strength in Kristin and Robbie’s parents, and say it has contributed to their inspiration to promote and grow the scholarship fund.
The idea for the fund was born when Lasuik and Shiach gathered to share photos and memories with the friends who acted as pallbearers at Kristin’s funeral. The group discussed a number of memorial options and decided a scholarship fund would be the best tribute to Kristin and Robbie, and the times they shared.
After some research, speaking with the administration at Fort Richmond Collegiate and with a family who started a scholarship a few years ago, Lasuik and Shiach decided to establish the memorial fund at The Winnipeg Foundation.
Since then, they’ve been spreading the word in an effort to grow the scholarship and expand its potential to help students. They’ve visited their elementary, junior high and high schools, speaking to teachers and encouraging them to promote the fund. With help from Fort Richmond Collegiate, they sent out letters and included a notice in the school’s newsletter.
So far, response has been very positive. They expect the first scholarship to be given out in 2009.
“Everyone is pretty eager to know more about it, especially if they knew Kristin and Robbie,” says Lasuik. “When you say their names, whoever knew them automatically smiles. You can’t help but smile remembering them. When someone gives you a feeling like that you want to give back.”
The Winnipeg Foundation