This scholarship fund is intended to assist Ocean Academy students who, like you, actively volunteer and contribute to community development on Caye Caulker, Belize. Our $5000 goal will provide 10 high-school scholarships of one semester each. The scholarships will be called "Ocean Academy Volunteers Fund" with all donor names on the award certificate. Your student scholars will write a thank you letter and update you on their community volunteer work and academic progress.
In Belize, education is expensive due to school fees, books, and uniforms; most children are forced out of the educational system and are often left with marginal literacy and numeracy skills. They struggle to find low paying jobs. This continues generation after generation. Only 40% of youth attend high school nationwide. With such pressing financial concerns, volunteerism is often not a priority for young people.
Ocean Academy provides financial support to 85% of students through scholarships, tuition bartering, and work study. This project is a way for former Ocean Academy volunteers to collectively reconnect with the students, and provide scholarship support for those who are actively involved in community volunteerism and environmental activism.
Many individuals choose to volunteer their time, skills and energy to work with Ocean Academy students. You are an example to the youth of "service above self". Ocean Academy students, in turn, also want to volunteer and better their community. Students are tutoring at the primary school, cleaning beaches and planting mangroves. Scholarships that reward character-building and altruism are contributing to the formation of fully-educated individuals.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
