Livern Barrett, Staff Reporter - The Jamaica Gleaner
TEN STUDENTS attending Corporate Area schools are to receive financial assist-ance to offset some of the cost of their education. The sponsorship by the First Union Financial Group, through its Tyco Foods brand, will cover tuition fees and the cost of books.
Tyco Foods' managing director, Lloyd Campbell, said his company was trying to help students who have "shown an appetite for learning", despite financial difficulties.
"Whatever we can do to make a difference in these students' lives we try to do it," he told The Sunday Gleaner last week, after some of the students were taken on a tour of two of the companies in the First Union Group.
Campbell said the sponsorship will cover the first year of school, but may be extended, based on the students' academic performance.
Coordinator for the project, Jannette Clarke, explained that the students' report cards will be analysed at the end of each school term "to determine how well they are doing".
"Once they are on the programme, we don't want a straight line in terms of their performance," she said, adding that she expects to see steady growth over the academic year.
Well appreciated
Dionne Johnson, whose daughter Junell Douglas is one of those benefiting from the initiative, welcomed the gesture, saying it will make a difference for her. "It is very expensive these days to school children ... . Times are really hard so it will help me financially," she said.
Clarke said the sponsorship is part of an overall strategy to motivate young children to do well in school, adding that she was trying to get more companies to come on board to help more students.
"We are trying to steer youngsters from a life of idleness that could possibly turn them to a life of crime," the project co-ordinator told The Sunday Gleaner. "So we want to save youngsters, we want to bring them into the productive workforce," she added.
Clarke heaped praise on the First Union Financial Group for supporting this initiative. The group will also providing mentors for the students in the programme.
livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com
CAPTIONS:
General manager of First Union Financial Group, Lessanne Roper-Bennett (left), greets (from left) Michael Walters of Jamaica College, Kadeem Brown of St George's College, and Junell Douglas of the Convent of Mercy (Alpha), before they are given a tour of the company's New Kingston offices recently. They are among 10 students the company is helping with their educational costs. - Photo by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
- Scholarships, school-based business programme provide opportunity for student development
First Union Financial Company, and Tyco Foods Limited, owner of the Mr Lee's brand, in collaboration with a number of other Jamaicans, including Janette Clarke, have embarked on a project to assist children between the ages of 10 and 18 who are placed in high school but have found it difficult to make the transition because of inadequate funding.
Ten students in the corporate area were selected for scholarships last year, however, the number of recipients has doubled this year, and includes students from schools in locations across the island where the company's 10 branches are found. The scholarships cover the full cost of tuition and books for the school year.
Lloyd Campbell, chief executive officer of both companies, said it was important to recognise the efforts of students who perform well under difficult conditions. He said the scholarship recipients would now have the opportunity to continue their educational pursuits.
Key criteria
"The key criteria are that beneficiaries must be self-motivated, demonstrate a strong hunger for learning and, at the time of selection, are experiencing a lack of education-related resources. They must be generally attaining an 80 per cent average in core subjects and be registered in a secondary school. The scholarships are subject to an annual extension, depending on the students' performance," Campbell said.
"We ask each branch to get in touch with the guidance counsellors and principals of these schools to recommend students that have the potential but not the financial backing," Campbell added.
As part of its corporate commitment, First Union Financial Company has also embarked on a business incubator programme at the Papine High School. The project is to be launched at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year, by participating students, teachers and community members.
"We sent proposals to two schools but (only) one decided to respond to us; that is Papine High School. We have spoken to the principal regarding setting up a business for students, run by students. It's not necessarily about the money that will be made or lost but it is about giving the students an opportunity to have some real-world experience," Campbell said.
Pilot programme
The students were given the option to decide on the type of business they were interested in, and they chose chicken farming. For the pilot programme, First Union Financial Company will be injecting $500,000. However, in case of an emergency, for example, a natural disaster, the company will provide a ceiling of up to a $1 million dollars.
"They believe that there is an immediate market in and around their school environment for chickens and they would want to capitalise on the opportunity. Their first sets of customers will be their school canteen, teachers, parents and the wider Papine community. At the end of the programme, the students will receive a certificate, and, if a profit is made from the business venture, each student will receive a stipend," Campbell said.
"It's First Union being a good corporate citizen, giving back something. We would rather teach a man to fish than to give fish all the time. When these students graduate from this programme, it should be there for another set of students," he added.
Sabrina Gordon, Business Reporter
Micro lender First Union Financial Company Limited says it intends to add at least three more branches to its network, growing it to 14 by the end of 2012.
"Since inception we have seen continuous growth," said Lloyd Campbell, chief executive officer of First Union.
"We have grown annually by about 10 to 15 per cent," he said, but would not divulge the value of his loan portfolio.
Established in 1999, First Union provides small business loans and personal loans through its current network of nine branches.
The first of the three new branches will be opened next week on Burke Road in Spanish Town, St Catherine; the second will be set up in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland by year end. The location for the third is undecided.
Campbell said the company has budgeted approximately J$35 million to J$40 million for the expansion.
The micro financier is also the owner of the manufacturing company Tyco Foods Limited, which was used to acquire the Mr Lee's brand in 2007.
Campbell said he has spent over J$115 million retooling and upgrading the manufacturing plant located at Westminster Road in Kingston, from where he produces browning and soya sauce, vinegar, ketchup, lime juice, and syrup.
Between Tyco and First Union, Campbell employs more than 100 persons
First Union, Mr Lee's help Corporate Area students
Published: Friday Gleaner | July 8, 2011 0 CommentsKeisha Hill, Gleaner Writer
THE NUMBER of children in need of financial assistance to further their education continues to rise, and in an ever-difficult economic situation, many of our bright minds do not get the opportunity to realise their full potential in our educational system.
A number of kind-hearted Jam-aicans, including Janette Clarke, have embarked on a project to assist children between the ages of 10 and 18 who are placed in high school, but find it difficult to make the transition because of inadequate funding.
"These students should really be in need and they should be students with potential. Some of them are already brilliant, but do not have the wherewithal to at least continue their mission to become worthwhile individuals later on in life," Clarke said.
Ten students were selected for scholarships last year. The scholarship covered the full cost of their tuition and books for the school year. All 10 students are attending schools in the Corporate Area.
"We provided these students with school fees and purchasing of school books for the year. Naturally, there is a shortfall there because some of those students are so ill-equipped. You talk about the need for uniforms and school books (and) lunch money not covered. What we are trying to do is to get other companies and individuals to come on-board and try and fill the gap," Clarke said.
Need-based assistance
Students are selected or recommended based on their particular need. "It's not just about helping students who can't go to school, it's about helping kids who are very brilliant, but they are stifled because of a lack of resources. So we want to remove that barrier and afford them the opportunity to continue with their education," Clarke added.
First Union Financial Company and Tyco Foods Limited, owner of the Mr Lee's brand, were the first sponsors of this project, and according to Lloyd Campbell, chief executive officer, they are committed to continuing the partnership this year.
"We have always wanted to have an impact on the lives of individuals, but we have always wanted to do this through education. We assist parents whose children have the potential, but are unable to afford to get them back into high school," Campbell said.
Unlike other scholarships, there is no fixed amount in cash or kind for the First Union/Mr Lee's educational support. Each case is treated on its own merit. "Beneficiaries must be self-motivated; demonstrating a strong hunger for learning; and at the time of selection are experiencing a lack of education-related resources that seriously hinder their performance and/or ability to achieve their highest potential," Campbell said.
They must also be attaining a 60-65 per cent average in core subjects and be registered in a primary or secondary school in Jamaica. The scholarships are subject to an annual extension, depending on the students' performance.
Campbell indicated that they are planning to increase the number of beneficiaries to possibly 30 students this year.
Golding to unveil new micro financing plan
Published: Gleaner Thursday | April 30, 2009
A NEW facility for providing financing to the micro and small enterprise sector will be unveiled next week when Prime Minister Bruce Golding delivers his presen-tation in the 2009-2010 Budget Debate.
This was divulged by Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister Karl Samuda yesterday during his contribution to the debate.
At present, $2.5 billion is available to the sector through a number of lending institutions.
"And when the prime minister makes his presentation he will indicate an additional facility that may see, in terms of access, I know I may be careless in saying this, but it could double that figure," Samuda said, "but he (prime minister) will explain when he comes to deal with that matter."
In another development aimed at the small business sector, Government on Monday signed off on its small-business procurement policy.
Under the new policy, a minimum of 15 per cent of government procurement will be set aside for micro and small enterprises.
Breakdown
Giving a breakdown of the maximum contract sizes under the new policy, Samuda said works contracts would have a ceiling of $10 million, service contracts, $5 million, and goods contracts, $1 million.
He said contracts ranging between $375,000 and $10 million for small businesses would be exempt from providing a bid bond.
"Because these small players cannot afford to post a bond and so they will be exempt from that," he said.
Meanwhile, effective January 1, 2009, only businesses with annual sales of more than $3 million will be required to make monthly returns on general consumption tax (GCT).
The previous ceiling for making GCT returns was annual sales above $1 million.
The minister pointed out that this move would remove the administrative burden of monthly returns for more than 2,800 small businesses.
With this new arrangement, the Government will give up $1 billion in revenue. However, Samuda said the administration was anticipating positive business results in the short and medium term.
For a company to qualify as a small business, its auditors must certify that its assets do not exceed $30 million.
edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com
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