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Welcome to GiveSait.ca

Your gifts to the SAIT Opportunities Fund ensure a world-class education for students, such as the seven SAIT students featured on the right who recently competed for Canada at the WorldSkills competition.

How your Gift Makes a Difference

Your contribution to SAIT Polytechnic truly changes lives. We thought you would appreciate hearing a story of one student whose education was immeasurable improved because of the generosity of donors like you, through the SAIT Opportunities Fund.
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When Nancy* arrived at SAIT she knew she was embarking on a life-changing journey. Although all new students face challenges adjusting to their new environment, her situation presented some unique difficulties. Nancy is disabled and makes her way through the world in a wheelchair.
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Click the next button below to start creating your calendar now. You´ll get to select from 24 images from around the world photographed by SAIT Alumni.

SAIT Worldskills
SAIT is very proud of our 7 competitors in the WorldSkills Calgary 2009 competition in September. Click the names below to read their stories.
Daniel Reid
- Like many of Team Canada´s Alberta members, 22-year-old Daniel Reid hadn´t heard of WorldSkills until a few short years ago. But in the weeks and months before the WorldSkills Calgary 2009 competition in September it took over his life as he trained for the telecommunication distribution technology category. He spent hours “honing” up on his skills – terminating and splicing phone cables – to prepare. Reid became interested in the field while attending Bow Valley High School in Cochrane, where he helped maintain the school´s IT network. Reid graduated from SAIT´s Telecommunication Systems program in April 2009. “It´s great to have the chance to prove that you are good at what you do and take pride in the quality of your work,” Reid says.
Brad Chyz
- Twenty-one-year-old Calgarian Brad Chyz is familiar with competition. Two years ago, the avid curler made it to the provincial finals for his sport – an experience he says helped him through the pressure of competing at WorldSkills Calgary 2009 in September. Instead of throwing rocks, however, Chyz measured, bent and welded in the sheet metal category. Chyz – studying as a sheet metal apprentice at SAIT – juggled school and curling, all while training for the international competition. “I´ve gained the ability through curling to stay positive and push myself to accomplish more,” says Chyz.
Tiffany Vandermey
- As the only woman on the Alberta contingent, Tiffany Vandermey, 21, wishes more women would get involved in trades education. “I want to show other young females they can get into the trades,” says Vandermay. She was the first Canadian to ever compete in the WorldSkills Painting and Decorating competition in September. “I´m the only girl from Alberta and the only girl on Team Canada where you get your hands dirty,” says Vandermay. While there were other girls on the Canadian team, most were competing in more traditional categories such as floristry, hair dressing and landscape gardening. “I want to prove to other girls that they can be successful in the trades,” says Vandermay. “It´s not as intimidating as it may look.”
Steven Dingwall
- While WorldSkills may have felt like another day at work for some, this was not true for Steven Dingwall. The 21–year–old Calgarian is an electrician by trade, but he represented Team Canada in the automation and control category. “It´s something we learn,” says Dingwall, who took apart remote control cars as a kid. “But it´s a small part of it.” After four days of competition, his finished product looked like an electrical panel in a house. Now that the competition is over, Dingwall is considering training for a second trade. “I like school and if I have another trade it opens even more doors,” he says.
Matthew Chadder
- Many people have difficulty even understanding what it is that Matthew Chadder does. Whenever Chadder, 21, explains his area of study – networking – faces go blank. “I usually start by asking them how many times a day they use technology,” he says. When the answers follow – cell phone, computer, iPod, etc. – his response is simple. “In order for any of these devices to communicate, there´s a network engineer behind it. Someone designed it, built it and maintains it.” Chadder began his final year in the Bachelor of Applied Technology Information Systems in Network Management at SAIT in September, and he hopes to soon become an IT professional. He also represented Team Canada in the network support competition at WorldSkills Calgary 2009 in September. “Whether I´m at school, work or play, I´m always learning something new or refining my knowledge of IT,” said Chadder.
Devon DeBoer
- “My dad was always into fixing up older cars,” says 20–year–old auto body repair competitor Devon DeBoer. One car in particular – 1964 black Pontiac Beaumont – has “been around forever,” he says. He and his father, Doug, continued its restoration while Devon trained for the WorldSkills Calgary 2009 competition. It helped with his greatest focus during his training: “the little things, the details.” DeBoer tested this meticulousness over the four days of competition where he essentially built a car on a plain frame that was then damaged so he could repair it for the competition. DeBoer completed this third year apprenticeship at SAIT in December 2008.
Daniel Green
- Like DeBoer, Daniel Green´s interest in cars was sparked at a young age, except his grandpa was the one who hooked him. This early exposure has manifested itself in a car painting career, and that´s how Green represented his country at WorldSkills Calgary 2009 in September. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he said prior to the competition. Green, who lives in Drumheller, Alberta, thrives when challenged by his work, where something as simple as humidity can affect the process he uses. But it´s the final clear coat, the moment when his hard work comes together, that gives him the most satisfaction. Green, now a certified refinish technician, completed his second year of apprenticeship at SAIT in December 2007.