Angella and Joe Whitter Foundation to provide scholarships for tertiary students

Stressing the importance of having full access to education, regardless of socio-economic and health challenges, the Whitter Group of Companies has now officially launched the Joe and Angella Whitter Foundation.

Chief executive officer of the group and wife of the late developer and visionary, Angella Whitter, said the intention is to create a $5-million fund to assist students from Montego Bay who have shown “the aptitude, ability and good grades” at tertiary institutions but are experiencing financial difficulties.

The foundation, Whitter noted, will also seek to assist, as best as possible, applicants with comorbidities from illnesses related to kidney, heart and optical diseases “to assist with medical expenses for surgery or other medical procedures as is deemed necessary by the foundation”.

The latter, she added, is of particular importance to the foundation, considering that Joe Whitter suffered from underlying conditions and “elements of these health issues at different levels during different stages of his life”.

“The scholarships will be awarded annually during the month of September. They will be for students who live in western Jamaica and is our way of stressing the importance of having a quality education and the foundation’s unwavering desire to assist the less fortunate,” Whitter added.

AREAS OF STUDY

She said that the students will be studying in the areas of entrepreneurship, business management, construction and building management, and architecture and engineering.

From these areas, she said, the foundation will look at applications and stories sent in by students yearly and award between $50,000 and $300,000 to each applicant to enable them to continue on a path to success.

Students in western Jamaica over the years have had difficulty sourcing scholarships and grants because of the limited options available to them. This past year many were forced to defer their education due to the COVID pandemic.

The Whitter Group of Companies owns and has successfully completed several property developments in Jamaica. The most iconic being the Whitter Village, a 220,000-square foot retail and office complex situated in the Ironshore, Rose Hall area of St James. Other projects include the 18-shop Golden Triangle Mall and the former 18-hole championship Ironshore Golf and Country Club.