Our Mission
The Walker Wood Foundation is dedicated to the funding of post-secondary education at all levels and across disciplines, to individuals who have high academic standing, demonstrated leadership or similar qualities, and who might otherwise find it difficult to afford pursuing further education. We achieve this by working directly with educational institutions to provide scholarships and bursaries. We also allocate discretionary funding to community-based organizations, especially to those that align with our areas of focus.
The Walker Wood Foundation is dedicated to the funding of post-secondary education at all levels and across disciplines, to individuals who have high academic standing, demonstrated leadership or similar qualities, and who might otherwise find it difficult to afford pursuing further education. We achieve this by working directly with educational institutions to provide scholarships and bursaries. We also allocate discretionary funding to community-based organizations, especially to those that align with our areas of focus.
Our History
To Neil, establishing the Foundation outshone all of his other business-based achievements.
In Neil’s own words, “the creation of the Walker Wood Foundation was the best thing I’ve ever achieved, my father would have been very proud.” Neil and Susan travelled extensively throughout Canada to determine where the funds could be most effectively awarded. Since Neil’s passing in 2021, the Wood Family are determined to carry-on James and Neil’s legacy through the work of the Foundation.
The Walker Wood Foundation was established in 2006 by Neil C.W. Wood and his wife Susan.
The Foundation’s history goes back to the start of the previous century, when Neil’s father, James Walker Wood, a bright young man with little means, was awarded a full Carnegie Scholarship to attend medical school at the University of Aberdeen. Upon graduation in 1914 he immediately enlisted with the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders and was dispatched to the Western Front during World War I, where he served as a medical officer. He devoted the rest of his life as a family practitioner to caring for the sick and ailing in an impoverished district of Yorkshire. He was, in turn, able to provide an excellent education for his family; a firm foundation that Neil brought with him when he immigrated to Canada.
Neil became the President of Winnipeg-based Fidelity Trust Company, over the next 16 years he built Fidelity Trust into a national corporation, with offices coast to coast across Canada. After the sale of Fidelity Trust, Neil founded Camwood Properties and began purchasing and retrofitting ‘brick and beam’ commercial buildings in the Toronto downtown area. The sale of this portfolio in 2005 made it possible to establish the Walker Wood Foundation.
The Walker Wood Foundation was established in 2006 by Neil C.W. Wood and his wife Susan.
The Foundation’s history goes back to the start of the previous century, when Neil’s father, James Walker Wood, a bright young man with little means, was awarded a full Carnegie Scholarship to attend medical school at the University of Aberdeen. Upon graduation in 1914 he immediately enlisted with the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders and was dispatched to the Western Front during World War I, where he served as a medical officer. He devoted the rest of his life as a family practitioner to caring for the sick and ailing in an impoverished district of Yorkshire. He was, in turn, able to provide an excellent education for his family; a firm foundation that Neil brought with him when he immigrated to Canada.
Neil became the President of Winnipeg-based Fidelity Trust Company, over the next 16 years he built Fidelity Trust into a national corporation, with offices coast to coast across Canada. After the sale of Fidelity Trust, Neil founded Camwood Properties and began purchasing and retrofitting ‘brick and beam’ commercial buildings in the Toronto downtown area. The sale of this portfolio in 2005 made it possible to establish the Walker Wood Foundation.
To Neil, establishing the Foundation outshone all of his other business-based achievements.
In Neil’s own words, “the creation of the Walker Wood Foundation was the best thing I’ve ever achieved, my father would have been very proud.” Neil and Susan travelled extensively throughout Canada to determine where the funds could be most effectively awarded. Since Neil’s passing in 2021, the Wood Family are determined to carry-on James and Neil’s legacy through the work of the Foundation.
“I am deeply humbled to have received this award amongst a cohort of excellent colleagues, it has given me such encouragement to be granted this opportunity. I wish I could express through words the immense appreciation and gratitude for your contribution to attaining my dream, and I sincerely want to thank you for helping me become a rural family doctor in my hometown.” - Anonymous Student Award Recipient
Our Board
Susan Wood
President
Susan, alongside her husband Neil, founded the Walker Wood Foundation in 2006. After immigrating to Canada, Susan worked for many years in the financial sector. Her deep, personal interest in maintaining the integrity of the Foundation’s work and mission is combined with practical economic understanding.
Kate Wood, MBBS
Vice President
Kate, Neil and Susan’s daughter, worked professionally as a family medicine physician, before making the decision to work within the Foundation full-time. Kate has lived and travelled coast-to-coast across Canada and internationally; she has seen first-hand the difference that opportunity can make within communities.
Ninfa Camba
Treasurer
Ninfa has been with the Foundation since its inception, bringing financial and administrative expertise. In her own words, “Quality education should be available to everyone desiring to learn. It is a privilege to assist individuals hoping to contribute to society and improve their lives by means of funding their education.”