An Overview

The Kingston College Old Boys Association USA Inc. Scholarship program is one of the organization’s longest and most successful initiatives. Established in 1982, one of the founding goals of this Need-Based scholarship initiative is to provide financial support to young leaders from within the school who have demonstrated high academic fortitude and solid leadership qualities.

Although the scholarship program has grown and transformed over the last 30 years, this remains one of the founding goals, provides financial support to young leaders from within the school with the potential to lead and who will make a positive impact in Jamaica and the world in their adult life.

What makes this scholarship unique?

The Branded Scholarship option provides Kingston College Old Boys and friends of the school an opportunity to invest their time and money in making a difference in the lives of young men. The donor gets a chance to play an important role in the formative years of a youngster’s life. This is not only life- changing for the student but also for the donor. The feeling a donor gets from reading the student’s end of year report card or seeing that student walk across the stage for his graduation diploma, parallels the feeling one gets from seeing his or her child succeed in life.

From the moment a donor decides to sponsor a child, he or she will feel connected to the student. Within 30 days of the new school year, all new donors receive a complete student profile of their scholarship recipient. At the end of each school year, a copy of the student’s report card, with comments from his teachers, will be shared with the donor, giving them an opportunity to celebrate successes or provide encouragement as needed. In addition, donors will get a chance to personally meet and greet their student during our annual Panel Presentation, which is held at the school on the Thursday of Boys and Girls Championships.

Program Success

Some of our successes over the years include:

· Increasing the number of scholarship recipients from 30 in 2012 to 112 in 2019

· 100% graduation rate for scholarship recipients

· 85% matriculate to university majoring in various fields of study including, but not limited to:

o Medicine

o Law

o Engineering

o Business

o Music

· Recipients represent Kingston College and Jamaica in:

o Track and Field

o Football (Soccer)

o Table Tennis

o Swimming

o Cricket

o Schools’ Challenge Quiz

Why get involved?

Now more than ever, the young men at Kingston College need your support. For every one scholarship we award, there are at least 10 students who are equally deserving but will not be awarded due to limited funds. Today at least 45% - 50% of the student body at Kingston College come from a low income household with the vast majority of these boys receiving some sort of government support. However, the support received from the Jamaica government does not cover the full cost to educate a boy at Kingston College. As a matter of fact, the funds provided by the Ministry of Education for each student at Kingston College, falls significantly short of the funds needed to cover the school’s expenses for things such as utilities (light and water), building maintenance, nutrition, educational supplies and sports.

Welfare and Academic

As told by the Guidance counselors at both Melbourne and North Street, today at Kingston College, there is a large number of boys who show up for school each day without breakfast and in some cases even without dinner from the night before. We currently have boys who go throughout the entire day without a proper meal. These boys typically find it difficult to stay awake or alert in class and as a result they find themselves lagging behind in their school work. All these boys need to get them back on track and focused in class is a proper meal at least once per day. A donation to the scholarship programs, will support the most vulnerable among the student population.

A survey conducted by one of the Guidance Counselors showed that many of our boys are under severe stress as they worry about their economic well-being, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. The parents of a number of KC students have been laid off as a result of the pandemic and this has caused severe stress for our boys as they carry the burden of not knowing how their families will survive during these times. A donation to the scholarship programs will give a boy peace of mind, knowing that his books and other school related expenses are covered for the school year.

A donation to the scholarship program will ensure that the school is able to meet its mandate of providing a rich learning and teaching environment, we need your support. To ensure the boys at Kingston College continue to receive the high quality education the school is known for, we need your support. To ensure the school continues to compete with other top schools across the island, we need your support. To ensure Kingston College continues to develop boys from low income households and be able to get a quality education that will allow them to break the cycle of poverty in their family, we need your support.

How to get involved?

Honor the memories of a parent, teacher or fellow KC Old Boy by funding a Branded Scholarship in his or her name for a minimum cost of US$350 per year, for 5-7 years. This can be your legacy. You can also donate to our general scholarship fund. No donation is too small.

To donate:

· Visit our website at http://www.kcobausa.org/scholarship and click on the DONATE button

· Zelle donation to treasurer@kcobausa.org

· Send checks Payable to KCOBA USA Inc., to P.O. Box 3917, New York, NY 10185

On behalf of your scholars, the Scholarship Program Coordinators at KC, and KCOBA USA, we thank you for your continued support.

-Dwight Green, Scholarship Committee Chair