KINGSTON, Jamaica— More than 100 students at Northern Caribbean University (NCU) who were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic received scholarships to help them continue their studies.
According to a statement from NCU, the scholarships and grants ranged from $50,000 to $100,000 per recipient.
University president Dr Lincoln Edwards said “these awards are being made to benefit students who have been negatively impacted by the vagaries of COVID-19, because on-campus and the various overseas summer-job opportunities, including colporteuring, and working in the many franchises in North America were effectively closed.”
Speaking at the university’s alumni scholarships awards ceremony held recently, Edwards thanked the NCU Alumni Federation for initiating a fundraising drive to meet the financial needs of the students.
According to NCU, the drive was launched in May this year with a media-thon entitled A Gesture of Care and was broadcast live on NCU social media platforms, as well as NCU FM and NCU TV. It featured an array of artistes who performed in support of the cause. By the end of August the fundraising initiative raised US$300,000 in donations.
The federation’s vice president for academics, Marleen Campbell, said that this was the first fundraising event that the Alumni Federation had ever hosted for the student body.
Campbell, who chaired the ceremony, pointed out that over the years, individuals from the alumni would have given NCU students scholarships. However, this year, with the plight of so many students brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the newly reconstituted NCU Alumni Federation was moved to raise funds for them.
The media-thon and fundraising drive had received donations from Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who gave $750,000 from his Positive Jamaica Foundation, along with former Member of Parliament for Central Manchester, Peter Bunting, who gave US$1600.
The NCU alumni scholarships awards ceremony was held during the NCU Homecoming 2020 celebrations and was done virtually with the majority of its audience interacting online through the YouTube live chat.
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