Community Foundation Of The Virgin Islands Announces Award Of $38,000 In Summer Enrichment Grants

The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI), a nonprofit known for making annual grants to local organizations that are serving children through quality programs, decided in 2015 to offer financial assistance directly to students and their families, according to a press release CFVI issued on Thursday.

According to the release, oftentimes quality programming for children is cost-prohibitive for parents hoping to enroll their children. The CFVI Summer Enrichment Scholarship Program supports local students from kindergarten to high school juniors, to make enriching opportunities available for low to moderate income young people.

The grants, which range in size from $500 to $2,500, were made to students on all three islands.

“The purpose of CFVI Summer Enrichment scholarships is to offer opportunities for children who would not be able to participate without this financial support; especially those students facing difficult life circumstances,” Dee Baecher-Brown, CFVI’s president, said. “We want to make sure that children living in challenging situations are specifically supported. When I think about what the Community Foundation, this is what I picture…the generosity of community members extended to young people so that their lives can be further enriched.”

CFVI awarded more than $25,000 to 20 students through Summer Enrichment Scholarships. The organization says it hopes to maximize the impact of scholarships and decided this year to show priority to children of incarcerated parents and children living in foster care. With a wide range of applications including arts programs, pre-medical and pre-engineering programs, the Junior Statesman of America program (JSA), sports programs and more, applicants embodied the diverse talents of VI young people. In addition, two special Arts scholarships were provided by the Prior Family Scholarship Fund.

Through the J. Raymond Jones Fund at CFVI, the Foundation provided another enrichment grant in the amount of $13,000 to the Mathematics Behind the Science Program at the University of the Virgin Islands. This program enhances the mathematics preparedness of college-bound students who are interested in pursuing careers in science, mathematics, engineering, technology or medicine.

Funds for these summer offerings are provided through the generosity of donors who give to unrestricted funding- CFVI Angels. If you’re interested in supporting such work, please contact CFVI at 774-6031 or visit their website at www.cfvi.net.