Scotia looking after C’bean youth

The fundraising gala, which brings together Canada’s business and academic communities to celebrate the greatness and tireless work of its honorees, provides funds for scholarships, under the theme “Light, Learning and Liberty”.

This year, renowned Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa Desmond Mpilo Tutu was honoured at the event which took place earlier this month. Tutu, represented by his daughter Reverend Canon Mpilo Tutu van Furth, was presented with the Luminary Award, which is given to people of Caribbean heritage, who are outstanding achievers on the international scale, or people who have brought prominence to the Caribbean or to issues which affect the region.

Past honorees have included Stephen Ames, Tessane Chin, Shaggy, Malcolm Gladwell and Dr Jimmy Cliff. Scotiabank’s partnership with UWI spans a 50 year period.

In addition to each Caribbean territories’ support of UWI scholarships locally, Scotiabank has supported this fundraising since its inception in 2010. During this time, 260 scholarships have been awarded to support students and their goals. This year almost CAD$ 500,000 was raised, ensuring that Caribbean students can benefit from a good education.

Anya M. Schnoor – Senior Vice President and head, Caribbean East and South, Scotiabank, in her remarks on the night indicated the Bank’s deep commitment to the Caribbean.

“Scotiabank has deep ties to the Caribbean, dating back to 1889. We have grown from strength to strength and today, we have operations in 21 countries across the Caribbean. We aim to support organizations that are committed to helping young people reach their full potential...

“Helping our young people in our communities become better off remains one of our core focal points and as such we undertake numerous initiatives geared towards this.

From the Bahamas in the North to Guyana & Trinidad in the South, we invest in educational, sporting and cultural programmes, all aimed at helping our young people lead better lives,” Schnoor said.