The VM Foundation has partnered with the MultiCare Youth Foundation to launch a mentorship programme for scholarship recipients, starting with over 50 students between the ages of 13 and 24 in the 2021 cohort of the VM Foundation’s scholarship programme.
The mentorship programme, which pairs awardees with VM Group team members, will see mentees receiving support from their mentors in setting life goals and overcoming personal challenges through consistent dialogue and engagement. They will also benefit from personal development sessions led by the MultiCare Youth Foundation.
“At the VM Foundation we wanted to enhance our existing scholarship programme to make an even greater impact on the lives of our deserving scholars. In addition to providing financial assistance, we saw it fit to invest in the holistic development of our scholars through establishing this mentorship programme, that will see VM Team Members engaging scholars in developing goals that will help them to reach their full potential,” explains VM Foundation CEO, Samantha Charles.
VM Team Members recently underwent training by the MultiCare Youth Foundation and were matched with their mentees. Executive of the MultiCare Youth Foundation, Alicia Glascow Gentles, commends the VM Foundation on this initiative.
“I congratulate the VM Foundation on their commitment to making an important difference in the lives of our youth and to our country. You have joined one of the most powerful worldwide movements for empowering the young,” she said.
The programme, funded by the VM Foundation, is supported through the expert training and guidance of mentors and mentees by the MutiCare Youth Foundation, which also monitors the progress of the mentor-mentee relationships.
The mentorship programme is the VM Foundation’s latest push to enhance its scholarship offerings, having responded to the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the gaps that emerged regarding access to technology with the provision of laptops and tablets for each awardee as a part of their scholarship package.
For over 30 years the VM’s Head-Start Scholarship Programme has formed a part of the organisation’s Schools Savings Programme and it rewards the excellent scholastic achievement of VM student savers. The programme presents several opportunities for students who save while they pursue their education, to qualify for scholarships and bursaries.
Scholarships are awarded in four categories: the Junior Plan Head-Start Scholarship and PEP Bursary, for students who have completed PEP in the year of application and will be starting high school; the Future Plan Head-Start Scholarship, for students starting tertiary education; the Master Plan Head-Start Scholarship, a one-time scholarship offered to a student who will be starting the final year of an undergraduate or master’s degree programme; and the STEM Head-Start Scholarship, awarded to a student who will be starting tertiary education in the area of Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics.
To date, the VM Foundation has awarded close to 2,000 scholarships and bursaries.
MultiCare was established in 1993, to focus on youth and community development geared at transforming the lives of youth. In 2017, three entities were merged to expand the reach and function of the organisation – The MultiCare Foundation, Youth Upliftment Through Employment (YUTE) and Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU). The official name was then changed to The MultiCare Youth Foundation. The organisation also provides services and programmes to support at-risk youth across more than 69 marginalised communities in Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine and St. James
