LaTonya Linton, Gleaner Writer
Scholarship winner Shanique Rainford (left), is congratulated by Donovan Perkins (centre), president and chief executive officer of Pan Caribbean Financial Services, and Dr. Henley Morgan, managing consultant with Global Management Solutions Ltd., during yesterday's Pan Caribbean Scholarship Fund luncheon. Ms. Rainford, a Campion College student, was one of 24 students who received academic scholarships from Pan Caribbean during the function. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
PAN CARIBBEAN Financial Services has awarded 24 scholarships to tertiary students attending the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the University of Technology (UTech).
"For well over a decade, Pan Caribbean has been quietly providing scholarships to UTech and UWI to help students complete their degree and contribute positively back to our society," said Donovan Perkins, president and CEO of Pan Caribbean Financial Services, yesterday.
Since 1983 Pan Caribbean has invested over $37 million in providing scholarships to university students with each recipient receiving $100,000.
Geneive Robinson, a third-year UTech student, was very appreciative to Pan Caribbean for the scholarship she received.
"I would like to say thanks to Pan Caribbean Financial Services as they have been an exemplary corporate institution," she said. "They have laid the foundation for my success and have given me the opportunity to realise my dreams."
Pan Caribbean has not only helped students to achieve a higher education, but it has also partnered with other organisations to finance students from inner-city schools.
"Pan Caribbean, along with the Jamaica Bankers Association in conjunction with the Jamaica Constabulary Force, has agreed to a three-year $1.8-million programme to provide scholarships to help keep inner-city children from downtown communities in school," said Mr. Perkins.
He added that Pan Caribbean has also partnered with Life of Jamaica to raise over $1.5 million to help fund a National Youth Service Camp for high school students at risk for expulsion from high schools.
"We are committed to these causes at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels because wherever you look, the needs are great and the resources are limited," he said. "We cannot give up. And as a responsible corporate citizen, we need to do what we can to help."
