Tryall’s big bet on youth

Western Bureau:

Some 371 students from Hanover recently received a major boost towards their education after collectively being gifted US$390,000 in scholarship funding by the Tryall Fund, the charitable arm of the Tryall Club Hotel.

The Tryall Fund, which has been in operation for the past 60 years, is renowned for its contribution to health and education, particularly through the millions of dollars it has invested in annual scholarship grants to students from the primary school level through to tertiary level.

“Today we celebrate hard work, resilience and a bright future for our remarkable students,” said Fund Administrator Mitsy Clarke, who told the beneficiaries that the scholarship was an investment in the future of Jamaica.

Kenton Jones, managing director of the Tryall Club, said the fund was once again living up to its tradition of providing “incredible support to the Hanover community, which intensified since the passage of Hurricane Melissa in October 2025”.

Added Jones: “For the students here, I hope you all take two things away from today’s event. The first of course being the cheques, which are there to assist you in improving access to your education, while the second thing that I hope you take from today, is realising the impact that you can have and we all can have, on the people around us, if we decide to make that impact.”

He also called on the beneficiaries to make every effort to help the generation that is following them so that the investment in them will not stop with them.

Cristina Costantini, president of the Tryall Fund, urged the beneficiaries to take their education seriously, as the scholarship support is an indication of the belief in them.

“We are all behind you, both the Tryall Club and the Tryall Fund,” she said, while reminding the students that when the scholarship project first started, it had a mere 17 students benefitting.

“Approximately 66 per cent of you are the first in your family to go to college or university. You are trailblazers, you are leading the way, and we are so grateful to be there with you,” she said.

“The finish line, it is simply fuel, we are thrilled to be able to invest in you, and we are excited to see your individual stories unfold.”

IMPACTFUL CONTRIBUTION

In an interview with The Gleaner after the ceremony, Ambassador Lloyd Carney, the Chancellor of the University of Technology and president of the Tryall Club, said he was pleased that the Tryall Club was able to make such an impactful contribution to the Hanover community.

“There are people (donors) who have never met these children, but they know the importance of our children, the Tryall community’s children, and how important it is for these children to have a head start in life,” he stated. “These are children of our employees; these are the children of the people who makes our lives better every day.”

He emphasised that, while most of the beneficiaries are children of workers at the Tryall Club, some are residents from the surrounding communities.

“Most of our employees come from between Lucea and Hopewell, so most of the people who we try to impact are from within those communities,” he said, noting that the assistance provided in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa was not specific to any group.

Scholarship beneficiary Amelia Campbell, a Grade Seven student at Rusea’s High School, who spoke on behalf of the high school students, said the scholarships are more than just financial support, as they also show that there are people who care about students and want them to succeed.

“Because of your generosity, our families can now worry less about tuition, books and supplies, which means that we can focus more on our studies and our dreams,” she said. “We all have different goals, but we share one hope, to use our education to build a brighter future and give back to Jamaica.”

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