Could we be more proud?
No. We couldn't be.
James is a special student of ours. He is hardworking, incredibly smart and filled with potential. A resident of the Dunbar community, James is familiar with the many paths of life that he can take. Fortunately, he has chosen a positive one - one that many other students within our community have chosen as well.
Congratulations to James on attaining this scholarship! We know you are the change we need in the world and we look forward to your future accomplishments.
We are very thankful for SunLife Financial and the Miami Dolphins Foundation.
Read below for the full press release.
Miami
Dolphins, Sun Life Financial Present $220,000 in Grants & Scholarships to
South Florida Nonprofits & Students
Boys
& Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach; HANDY, Fort
Lauderdale; Little Haiti Optimist Foundation, Miami; Quality Life Center of
Southwest Florida, Fort Myers among 12 exceptional
organizations across U.S. honored with Sun Life Rising Star Awards for
commitment to education
Wellesley,
Mass. (October 21, 2014) – The U.S.
business group of Sun Life Financial and the Miami Dolphins today announced the
South Florida recipients of the Sun Life Rising Star Awards and presented $220,000
in grants and scholarships to four nonprofit
community organizations and an exemplary
student nominated by each nonprofit. The 2014 South Florida Sun Life Rising
Star Awards recipients are:
·
Nonprofit winners:
Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach
County, West Palm Beach; HANDY, Fort
Lauderdale; Little Haiti Optimist
Foundation, Miami; Quality Life
Center of Southwest Florida, Fort Myers
·
Student winners: Joeniseley Mathurin, Delray Beach; Kyandra Dorestin, Plantation; Junior Appo, Miami; James Blanks, Fort Myers
Sun Life Group Market Manager John Hak and Sun Life Employee Benefits Representative Brandon Davis joined Miami Dolphins players,
Dolphins cheerleaders and front office executives to surprise each winning
student with a $5,000 scholarship for college, and recognize each nonprofit
organization with a $50,000 grant at four awards presentations across South
Florida. This year’s South Florida Sun Life Rising Star Awards recipients also will
be honored at a special pre-game on-field ceremony and celebration at the Miami
Dolphins vs. Baltimore Ravens game at Sun Life Stadium on December 7, 2014.
The
Sun Life Rising Star Awards program is dedicated to improving educational
opportunities for students and education-based nonprofit organizations that
support them in our nation’s under-served metropolitan areas. Now in its fifth year, Sun Life recognizes
the remarkable achievements of all Sun Life Rising Star Award recipients, and
celebrates these exceptional students and organizations for their continued
dedication to education.
This year, Sun Life will provide $660,000
in grants, scholarships and other resources to outstanding organizations and
students in Boston, Nashville, San Francisco, South Florida and the
Tulsa/Oklahoma City area. By the end of 2014, Sun Life Financial will have
committed nearly $5 million to 86 students and 79 nonprofit organizations in 16
different cities across the country. Sun Life has committed $1.1 million in
South Florida to local education-based nonprofit organizations and under-served
area students.
“We’re committed to investing in the
health of our communities through initiatives like our Sun Life Rising Star
Awards program,” said Dan Fishbein, President, Sun Life Financial U.S. “Today’s
student scholarship recipients have overcome great obstacles to achieve
success. These remarkable individuals and the nonprofit organizations
that comprise this year’s class of Sun Life Rising Star Award recipients
inspire us all and we look forward to seeing the positive impact that the
collective efforts of all our Rising Star recipients will have on their local
communities and beyond.”
Sun Life also invites Rising Star
recipients to apply for summer internship opportunities at its U.S.
headquarters in Wellesley, Massachusetts following their freshman year of
college. The goal is to provide a substantial, meaningful work experience that
lays the foundation for future professional success.
“We are honored to join
Sun Life for the fifth year to recognize the efforts being made to better serve
the lives of under-served youth in South Florida. These exceptional students
and community organizations are transforming education in the region, and we
are thrilled to be part of it,” said Miami Dolphins President & CEO Tom
Garfinkel.
Judging panels comprised
of government officials, community, education and business leaders evaluate the
applications and student nominations in South Florida based on the following
criteria:
·
Nonprofit’s commitment to developing and promoting skills that directly
translate to educational engagement and matriculation rates for secondary
school youth under the age of 21.
·
Nonprofit’s demonstrated partnership with a secondary or post-secondary
educational institution.
·
Nonprofit’s documented ability to respond to the needs of specific
groups of youth in a manner yielding measurable results.
·
Student nominee’s plan to pursue a post-secondary education, leadership
qualities, commitment to his or her community and a 750-word essay.
This year’s panel included:
·
Shannon Alfonso, President of Florida Region Marsh & McLennan Agency
·
Maureen Capp, Director
of Resource and Grant Development at Palm Beach State College
·
James Champion, President at Champion Services Group
·
Mary Chance, Executive
Director of Consortium of Florida Education Foundations
·
Steve Jarvis, Vice
President at Gravity Benefits
·
Debra Lage, Senior
Associate at Mercer
·
Mike Meredith, Executive
Vice President at Willis
·
Matt Moraski, Owner
of Gravity Benefits
·
Jamar Taylor,
Cornerback, Miami Dolphins
·
Dr. Wallis Tinnie, Department of Human Resources for the City of Miami
·
Stacy Ostrau, Society
Scene Publisher at Sun Sentinel
·
Andy Zerbock, Vice
President of USI Insurance
Sun Life leverages its
partnerships with organizations such as the Boston Celtics and the Miami
Dolphins to enhance the student experience, promote healthy lifestyles and
leverage powerful role models to reinforce the connection between education,
health and financial well-being.
South Florida’s 2014 Sun Life Rising Star Award winners are:
Palm
Beach County
Boys & Girls Clubs of
Palm Beach County, Inc. – Founded in 1969, the Boys & Girls Clubs
of Palm Beach County, Inc. is a nonprofit youth development organization
dedicated to promoting the educational, vocational, health, leadership and
character of youth in a safe, nurturing environment. The organization strives
to enable and assist all young people, especially those who need them most, to
realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.
Student Recipient: Joeniseley
Mathurin, Atlantic High School
Joeniseley
Mathurin works and volunteers at the local school and in her community. She
also takes part in extracurricular activities, and participates on the
cheerleading team, as well as mentoring younger Boys & Girls' club members.
Broward
County
HANDY – Helping Abused
Neglected Disadvantaged Youth, HANDY’s mission is to embrace, educate, and
empower vulnerable youth to become engaged, productive adults. HANDY has met
the needs of almost 50,000 Broward County children and youth in foster and
relative/non-relative care under protective supervision.
Student Recipient: Kyandra
Dorestin, Plantation High School
Kyandra Dorestin often speaks at community engagement
events and activities as an advocate for foster care and dependency care youth.
In addition to her involvement with HANDY, she is a member of Broward County’s
Florida Youth Shine Chapter and is actively involved in extracurricular
activities such as the dance team, and participates in regular park and beach
clean-ups and donation drives.
Miami/Miami-Dade
County
Little Haiti Optimist Foundation–Little
Haiti Optimist Club is a nonprofit organization established in 2010 by a group
of business professionals, community and civic leaders to provide programs to
the youth of Little Haiti. Their mission is to make a difference in the lives
of youth by providing education, mentorship, athletics, arts and cultural
programming.
Student Recipient: Junior
Appo, Miami Edison Senior High School
Junior Appo is a member of his high school band and plays
three musical instruments. He also serves as treasurer on the student
government council, and works as a teller and concierge at the school's credit
union. He was recently awarded a trophy, honoring him as the top concierge in
the student finance department.
Lee
County
Quality Life Center of
Southwest Florida – Quality Life Center (the Q)
has served more than 15,000 youth and families in the community. Its mission is
to strengthen and instill pride in family and community through programs and
services to cultivate self-discipline, self-development, build confidence and
promote cultural awareness.
Student Recipient: James
Blanks, City of Palms Charter High School
James Blanks serves as
President of Quality Life Center’s teen program. He instructs and tutors
younger students in the program and participates in its community service
projects. James also stays active in extracurricular activities by playing football
at his high school, and serving as president of the Kappa League.
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers. The Sun Life Financial group of companies operates under the “Sun Life Financial” name strictly as a marketing name and no legal significance is expressed or implied. Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Bermuda. In the United States and elsewhere, insurance products are offered by members of the Sun Life Financial group that are insurance companies. In the United States, Sun Life Financial provides a range of products and services to employers and their employees, including Group and Voluntary Accident, Critical Illness, Dental, Disability, Life, and Stop-Loss Insurance Products. Sun Life Financial Inc., the holding company for the Sun Life Financial group of companies, is a public company. It is not an insurance company and does not offer insurance products for sale in the United States or elsewhere, and does not guarantee the obligations of its insurance company subsidiaries. Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE
No comments:
Post a Comment