The Dr. John and Olive Pyper Scholarship is awarded to a single, first-year student, who is blind or partially sighted, and lives in any one of the counties of Southwestern Ontario — namely Perth, Wellington, Waterloo, Oxford, Middlesex, and / or Huron.
Dr. John Pyper was an ophthalmologist from Stratford, Ontario, who in 1955, extracted the first two eyes donated to the Eye Bank of Canada, and continued to perform this procedure for decades. In 2014, Dr. John and Olive Pyper’s heirs (represented by Jon Pyper and Andrew Pyper) established an annual scholarship to be given to student who is blind or partially sighted. The scholarship is designated to assist the recipient with tuition and other related costs while attending a post-secondary program.
Amount: $4,000
Number Available: 1
Opening(s): Scholarship applications are open for Spring 2026
Deadline: June 26, 2026
Criteria
In order to be considered eligible for the above scholarship, students should have a high degree of motivation and independence, and should be able to demonstrate a reasonable level of personal achievement. Students must be:
- Blind or partially sighted (less than 20/70 corrected vision)
- A Canadian citizen (or landed immigrant, permanent resident, protected refugee for at least one year prior to the date of application)
- A secondary school graduate entering post-secondary education;
How to Apply
Click the following link to access the application.
Students who submit an application are automatically entered into competition for all CNIB Scholarships. Each applicant must submit only one application form to be considered for all available scholarships. Recipients will be determined by the CNIB Scholarship Selection Committee in accordance with its application procedures.
Along with the completed application form, applicants must also submit:
- Proof of secondary education completion;
- A most recent / interim transcript;
- Two letters of reference from a teacher / school official / volunteer supervisor;
- Letter of acceptance from an accredited post-secondary institution, college or university;
- An essay of not more than two pages on the topic “Please tell us how this scholarship will change what it means to be blind for you in your education?” (max 1000 words);
- List other sources of funding, if any
Please note that we receive a very large number of applications and are unable to acknowledge receipt of individual submissions. Only successful candidates will be contacted to be notified of results.
Contact Information
For more information about CNIB’s scholarship program, please email scholarships@cnib.ca.
Last Updated: 2026-05-20