A nonprofit offers scholarships and aims to bring people together.
By Zack Aldrich
Every day Daphne Lopez, an 81-year-old registered nurse in Evanston, bridges the divide between her Jamaican and American identities. Lopez, who has lived in Chicago for 44 years, helped found Chicago Concerned Jamaicans with her husband, Jimmy. CCJ is an organization of about 50 members that provides 35 high school scholarships annually for students in Jamaica. Since it started in 1988, CCJ has provided more than 500 scholarships to students.
Originally, the organization donated funds for relief efforts to combat the devastation caused by Hurricane Gilbert, a storm that killed 45 people in Jamaica in the late ’80s. Afterward, board members decided CCJ should focus solely on educating Jamaica’s young people. Lopez’s home country differs from the U.S. in that students have to pay for their education at the high school and college levels.
“In Jamaica, you have a lot of kids who are very academic, and they can’t get into the university, so they just take menial jobs,” she says. “You have students who maybe want to learn to be teachers, but they can’t afford the tuition.”
CCJ also offers Jamaicans in the city a chance connect with each other. When she first arrived, Lopez felt unwelcome as a newcomer to the U.S.: An immigration officer demanded she transplant her four children to the States if she wished to become a citizen, a commitment she had never intended to make.
“Some people come to this country, and they’re alone,” Lopez says. “And it’s like they’re lost.” She is grateful that she had her family at her side, but the immigration experience still made her feel isolated as a Jamaican.
Manley Pratt, an active member and former president of CCJ, says the annual fall dinner-dance fundraiser provides most of the scholarship money that allows the organization to help Jamaican students curb high school tuition costs.
Pratt, 70, has been working with the organization for more than 20 years. The nonprofit has contributed about $700,000 toward scholarships, hospitals and the United Negro College Fund, he says.
Although 10 percent of the scholarships help post-secondary studies, the bulk of the money assists Jamaican students who must pay their way through high school. “The brighter kids between ages 11 and 13 compete for scholarships. Their parents are in such poor financial condition,” Pratt says. “Most of our students are poor but very bright.”
A committee in Jamaica, organized by CCJ, seeks candidates from among the country’s 14 parishes and typically provides about $500 to each scholarship recipient. The education fund also equips parishes with a library computer intended for student use.
“This would take care of 95 percent of auxiliary demands they have,” he says of the $500 award. “That includes books, uniforms, transportation to school and lunch.”
Young people in Chicago who want to volunteer with the organization may contact Pratt at manleypratt@att.net to learn about upcoming meetings. The group needs volunteers to serve as ushers for the dinner dance in October.
“It’s sort of a Herculean task, but we stick to it and get it done,” Pratt says.
Come onboard with Chicago Concerned Jamaicans
Fundraiser:
25th Annual Gala
Oct. 27, 2012
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
2233 S. Martin L. King Drive
Proceeds go toward education fund
Learn More: chicagoconcernedjamaicans.org
From the street to the classroom
A study abroad trip inspires one University of Dayton student to start a nonprofit that helps Ugandan children pay for college.
Molly Heineman, 25, saw kids living on the streets when she studied abroad in Uganda. After her return to the University of Dayton, she founded the Child Restoration Outreach Support Organization to give college scholarships to students living in the East African country. Answers to Q&A below are excerpts.
Why fund post-secondary education?
The World Bank said 94.8 percent of Americans enroll in a post-secondary institution. The number in Uganda is 4 percent. Leadership and technical training skills will enable them to give back to the community in tangible ways.
How much money do you give students?
We sponsor them through their entire academic experience. We don’t sponsor students unless we have all of the money upfront in our bank account. It’s typically $1,500 per year, and that includes tuition, housing, food and books.
What challenges do you face as an organization?
The fact that we’re so far away from the population that we serve makes it difficult because of the ability to connect donors with the sense of urgency. People can’t relate necessarily to some of the things students face. Children in Uganda who live on the streets can easily find themselves in careers of child labor or prostitution; street children are generally not supported by the town community.
What tasks do you need volunteers to do?
Finding articles for our Facebook account, creating small videos we could share about our students and issues surrounding street children in Uganda, working with photos, learning about students and writing something about them like a news release or newsletter, communicating with our current donors and students.
For more information, email CROSO at croso9@gmail.com, visit the website at croso.org or attend the annual fundraiser July 26, where you can enjoy African dancing and drumming.
