BGLC Establishes Education Fund

The Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) has established an Education Fund as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility Programme, as it prepares to move its offices from Ruthven Road to Hagley Park Road in Kingston.

The aim of the Fund is to contribute to the welfare of children through education and ultimately assist in their upliftment. To this end, assistance will be offered, in the first instance, to tertiary level students in the Hagley Park Road area, in the vicinity of the new headquarters of the BGLC.

The Commission is soon to be merged with the Jamaica Racing Commission (JRC). It is expected that the Education Fund will be an annual programme extended by the combined agency, based on the positive financial performance of the Commission. This will allow an increase in the radius of communities in the area to benefit from the Fund as well as the levels of education to be included.

A Steering Committee has been established to oversee the introduction of the programme and administer the Fund. Members include educators, representatives of the church and the business community who will liaise with BGLC’s Board of Directors on the following:

• The eligibility criteria for beneficiaries of the Fund;
• The approval process;
• Monitoring of the use of funds;
• Establishment of a portal on the Commission’s website which will be used to publicize and accept applications each year.

Education assistance for the 2014-2015 year will target students in the immediate environs of the BGLC Hagley Park Road location. However, it is hoped to eventually expand the reach and scope of the Fund by engaging the support of the clients of the Commission.

Application forms for the Fund can be downloaded from the BGLC Website and submitted to the BGLC Office at 17 Ruthven Road, Building No 2, Kingston 10.  Applications close on September 2, 2014.