Over $1/2M raised for UWI students at annual benefit event

The 15th Annual University of West Indies Toronto Benefit Awards marked another successful year of fundraising supporting scholarships for Caribbean students.

Held recently at the elegant Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, Canada and hosted by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Anchor, Dr Dwight Drummond, the gala event was at capacity with 450 guests from executive-level businesses, public personalities, and community leaders. Together, they raised over CAN$400 000 (BDS$590 410) in one night.

“We are extremely grateful for the generosity of the attendees, many of whom return year after year for a night of elegance, inspiration, and camaraderie,” said Elizabeth Buchanan-Hind, Executive Director of the Institutional Advancement Division at The University of West Indies (The UWI). “Our theme this year was Lighting the Way Together, and through sponsorship, ticket sales, the live auction, silent auction, and personal pledges, funds have been raised to enable more Caribbean students to pursue higher education – the pathway to success.”

During his remarks at the benefit awards event, Vice-Chancellor of The UWI, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, told attendees: “We are an elite university in this hemisphere, in this world, but I should hasten to add that we are not an elitist university. We are here as a public university for the upliftment of the poor, the empowerment of the historically disenfranchised; we are the engine of Caribbean development and a force for democratic justice.”

Scotiabank, the lead sponsor for the past 14 years, undertook the benefit event again and committed to the same for the next five years to the tune of CAN$500 000 (BDS$738 012). Scotiabank was joined by other sponsors, Dr Donette Chin-Loy Chang, Sprott Inc., BDO Global, Bank of Montreal, and Sagicor Financial this year.

(PR)