Mt Alvernia Prep gets $100,000 donation towards legacy project from Chang

WESTERN BUREAU:

National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang on Saturday evening made a contribution of $100,000 to the Mt Alvernia Preparatory School and Kindergarten in aid of the institution’s legacy project, as part of its milestone centennial celebration.

Chang made the donation during Mt Alvernia Prep’s 100th anniversary gala banquet and awards programme at the MEET Conference Centre in Montego Bay, St James, on Saturday evening. The event was held under the theme ‘A century of stars illuminating the future’, as part of the school’s year-long series of centennial activities alongside its sister schools, Mt Alvernia High School and Chetwood Primary School.

“We are here tonight celebrating the Mt Alvernia Prep School’s 100th anniversary, and they represent a complex of schools in Montego Bay that has served this community with distinction over the last 100 years. Other preparatory schools have come, done well, and disappeared, but Mt Alvernia Prep has been very consistent,” Chang, whose own children previously attended the school, told the gala in a brief address.

“I will give you a contribution towards your centennial, a significant contribution, and I look forward to working with you to ensure that this school, plus Mt Alvernia High and Chetwood Primary, are maintained and properly supported by the Ministry of Education,” Chang continued.

Marline Stephenson-Dalley, chairman of the three schools’ combined centennial committee and a past student of Mt Alvernia Prep, expressed gratitude for Chang’s donation, while also calling on corporate Jamaica and other supporters to provide support for Mt Alvernia Prep’s centennial legacy project.

“As we always say, ‘every mickle mek a muckle’, and I appreciate any donation that we can get. Mt Alvernia Prep has quite a project where they want to put on three additional classrooms, a bank of bathrooms, and a library, so it is a substantial project,” said Stephenson-Dalley. “We are just appealing to corporate Jamaica, philanthropists, and like-minded individuals who really value excellent education, and who understand the need for corporate social responsibility, to pitch in.”

Supporters can give their contributions to Mt Alvernia Prep’s project at National Commercial Bank’s Baywest branch in Montego Bay, account number 431-032-651.

Shared celebration

The shared year-long centennial celebration between Mt Alvernia Prep, Mt Alvernia High, and Chetwood Primary, all located in Montego Bay, marks their 100th year of service to the community since they were founded in 1925 by the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany in the United States.

During Saturday evening’s gala, the attendees were entertained with music and dance presentations by past and present students of Mt Alvernia Prep. Awards were also given to seven of the school’s staff members with 20 or more years of service, as well as 24 staff members with 19 years or less of service.

Keynote speaker Dr Camara Brown, an ophthalmologist associated with the Ophthalmological Society of the West Indies and a past student of Mt Alvernia Prep, told the gala that her experience at the school has allowed her and her fellow alumni to be living examples in their current spheres of life.

“I am deeply indebted to this school, because this is where two very important pillars were laid for me; how I see myself, and how I see the role of humans in the world. I have thought of us, as students, how far and wide we have been scattered, but we could not give light if it had not first been given to us,” said Brown.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com