Hanover Charities gives $61 million in scholarships and grants

WESTERN BUREAU:

A whopping $61 million in grants and scholarships was distributed to several individuals and organisations in western Jamaica by the Hanover Charities (HC), which has been helping needy students to realise their educational dreams for several years.

Some 191 students and 50 organisations were presented with cash awards and grants of varying amounts during the handover ceremony, which took place at the Round Hill Hotel and Villas in Hanover.

Katrin Casserly, who chairs the organisation which has emerged as a fortress for charity in western Jamaica over the last 62 years, said the organisation continues to get a thrill out of giving back to Jamaica, especially in Hanover.

“The recipients of grants over the past years should know that we at the Hanover Charities do hope and wish that one day in the near future, we will also consider you all as donors, whether its service or cash or in kind,” said Casserly.

ESSENTIAL PARTNERSHIPS

Casserly further outlined that her organisation believes that the partnerships between government, private sector and non-government organisations (NGOs) are essential for the nation’s growth and the building of a better Jamaica for all.

Dr Patrick Prendergast, campus director at the UWI Mona Western Jamaica Campus, who gave the keynote address at the ceremony, urged the beneficiaries to be prepared to give back to society at some point in time in what he termed ‘pay forward’.

“I will make two points. One is to recognise the work being done by Hanover Charities, and the other is to make an appeal for all of us to pay forward,” said Prendergast, in using the popular slang for ‘payback.’

MODEST DONATIONS

He noted that, when compared to the donations being made by the charitable group in the United States, what the Hanover Charity is doing might appear modest. However, “The Hanover Charities is doing big things in a small country, and in a region in need of the support,” said Prendergast. “For this country and this parish, they are indeed making a big splash.”

Prendergast further argued that what needs to be taken into consideration is the long-term impact of the educational contributions that the organisation makes.

“In the last five years, the Hanover Charities, therefore, could have produced approximately 12 doctors, or 30 nurses, or 30 teachers or 30 social workers. I am only naming those areas in which they are currently actively involved, we are not talking about all the other areas,” noted Prendergast.

According to him, the time has come for the nation to recognise that it is the work of organisations like the Hanover Charities that is helping the unfortunate and marginalised from being left behind. He urged the beneficiaries not to use their benefit just for self, but also to pave the way for someone else to benefit.

“We must not only show gratitude today, we must also be prepared to fully embrace that responsibility that comes with being a beneficiary of this noble charity, one such responsibility is to give back,” he stated.