Alums of the Manchester High School on Saturday (March 25) announced the launch of an endowment fund during their homecoming gala event at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville.

The Fund, which aims to raise $J100 million in its first year, will aid in development activities for both the students and teachers.

In making the announcement, past student, conceptualiser, and donor Dr Christopher Tufton said the initiative was the very least he could do for an institution that profoundly impacted him.

“My time at Manchester High School was some of the best days of my life. Here I made lifelong friends, benefitted from excellent teachers and developed in an environment where I felt confident that I could achieve anything I wanted,” Tufton said.

He further shared that it “is because of the learnings from Manchester High School that I have been able to achieve success in my own life and why this fund will be integral in  ensuring that others benefit as well”.

TO BE MANAGED BY BOARD COMPRISING PAST STUDENTS

The Fund has started with an initial commitment of $11 million from donors Dr Carl Bruce, Willard Brown, Keith Duncan, Marlon Grant, Gene Marshall, Errol McKenzie, Dean Peart, Simone Scarlett, Grantley Stephenson, Clive Wint as well as Tufton.

It will be managed by a board comprising past students at a financial institution to be selected.

The Fund’s directors are:

• Dr Carl Bruce – neurosurgeon and chief of staff, University Hospital of the West Indies
• Grantley Stephenson – deputy chairman, Kingston Wharves
• Willard Brown – executive vice president and actuary, Sagicor
• Errol McKenzie –   former executive vice president, Sagicor