B.E.L. and Restore Belize Sign MOU for High School Scholarship
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed earlier today between Belize Electricity Limited and Restore Belize for a grant of thirty-six thousand dollars. The money, given for a specific purpose, has been earmarked for the I Am Belize Scholarship Program and will be used to cover the cost of tuition, books and uniforms. The financial contribution is for a period of four years, starting with the 2016-2017 academic calendar. Funding from the Belize Natural Energy Charitable Trust has come to an end, prompting Restore Belize to source finances from other companies, including Atlantic Bank and Atlantic Insurance Limited.
Roger Bradley
Roger Bradley, Senior Program Officer, Restore Belize
“The I Am Belize Scholarship Program commenced in 2010. The overarching goal of the program is community empowerment that enables personal development, social participation and productivity for a fair and just society. It is aimed at assisting students from economically challenged circumstances to complete their secondary education. The whole idea of the program is to enable our students to eventually become productive citizens in the future. The programs main objectives are to increase secondary school completion rates among the most vulnerable populations, to provide secondary school aged children with all the services needed for maximizing their education, making healthy life decisions and becoming productive citizens and third, to improve community participation and leadership among youth.”
Vonetta Burrell
Vonetta Burrell, Public Relations Manager, B.E.L.
“On behalf of Belize Electricity Limited we just want to say thanks to Restore Belize for giving us the opportunity to partner with them to provide funding for this much needed and successful program. We were contacted by the organization and we were impressed with the way their scholarship program is managed and also for the far-reaching impact it has on our communities, children in communities that may not have had the opportunity to finish their high school education. So we’re happy to be here today to provide a four-year commitment at a total of thirty-six thousand dollars.”
Mary Vasquez
Mary Vasquez, Director, Restore Belize
“I just want to say thank you so much to Belize Electricity Limited. You are a perfect example and I would say I hope a guiding light for the rest of the corporate world in corporate responsibility, in having corporate Belize participate in alleviating and addressing some of our most critical social issues. Education really is the key to a productive and peaceful society. That has been shown by research internationally and so this is both a very personal gift to all the students who will be receiving scholarships but it is also an overall important gift to our society as it is one of the most fundamental ways to promote peace and prosperity. Thank you so much B.E.L.”
