Lack Of Funding: School Programme In Jeopardy
The CedarBridge Academy Student Assistance Programme [SAP] — which helps students in need – is in jeopardy because there are no funds to sustain it, a statement from staff members said today.
The school’s social worker Marilyn Jackson oversees to the day to-day operations of the programme, and counsellor Roshanda Caines assists in a consultative role.
“The progamme, which initially provided for school essentials and in special instances financial assistance for utility payments eventually began to provide lunch in the form of Bag Lunches provided by a local church,” the statement said.
“When the economy began to shift downward, the breakfast and lunch vouchers were introduced for students to purchase meals from the school.
“Quite often there are families who are struggling or at the time are challenged financially and cannot provide lunch or breakfast, the SAP works to help in this regard.”
“We also provide school clothes, school supplies , text books, exercise books, anything school related for students who present a genuine need,” Ms. Jackson said. “We also have a supply of used school clothing and this year, it is becoming depleted.
“Appeals to the PTSA have been made and will continue with special emphasis on the S4 students who are in their graduating year.
“The SAP also helps to facilitate the provision of medication and eye glasses for students, with the help of the Committee of 25, and the Lions Club of Bermuda, respectively.”
“This year, at least 15-20 students are being helped with the SAP, particular with meals. There are a few students who receive breakfast and lunch vouchers every day, however, due to a lack of sponsors this year, most students who have needs get only two lunch vouchers a week, and bagged lunches other days.”
“This year, the Church of God continues to provide ‘Bag Lunches,’ however, the economy has hit everyone, and they have been inundated with requests from their congregation and the community, as well”, she said.
“To help this situation, the provision of Bag Lunches has been reduced to three days a week instead of five days.”
“In the past, the SAP has received donations from other churches, community organizations, corporate business, individuals, staff members and parents. Parents whose children were once the recipients of the SAP, and no longer have the need have also donated.
“This year is different and when considering a projection of $12,000 to $15,000 just to run the food aspect of the programme, a lack of funding places our students in jeopardy of not having lunch.
“Through the help of a staff member, CellOne is the only organization that donated funds for the SAP so far this year and while it was a sizable amount, it will soon run out.”
“We have staff members who also give lunch, buy uniforms, notebooks. The staff is kind and spends their personal funds to help students,” Ms. Jackson said.
Ms. Jackson stated that the challenge with running the programme is funding because it is outside the normal school operations, and not part of the school budget.
While she wants to be able to raise funds, her demanding role as School Social worker takes up a lot of time. “What would be helpful to the programme is finding someone who is willing to volunteer to help raise funds to allow the programme to continue,” she said.
Ms. Jackson said she works to ensure the programme is not abused and that students understand how it works; she and Mrs. Caines have conducted workshops with students in the programme to ensure they understand the purpose and the funding origin.
Ms. Jackson said she is vigilant about abuse and looks into concerns of abuse to ensure the authenticity and integrity of the programme. All students accepted into the programme are followed up to ensure not just need, but level of need.
Ms. Jackson continued, “I know how much is needed, just for the lunch and breakfast. It will cost anywhere between $12,000 to $15,000 to feed students, who are in need.
“There is a direct correlation between educational outcomes and nutrition. Children who are hungry cannot think. If they can’t think, they cannot be successful.”
“We need funds, because, as I stated earlier, children come and they come hungry. We certainly need funds to assist students who are in need and donations and sponsorship for this programme would go a long way.”
Anyone interested in donating or providing sponsorship can contact Ms. Marilyn Jackson at 278-1574 or Ms. Roshanda Caines at 296-5665 ext. 2123.
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The PLP spent 1 million $$$$$$ on Beyonce for a couple of hrs work,and cut funding To The Salvation Army who give food to the homeless and poor.Now we see the results!
Oh sure, yes of course this is the PLP’s fault. Kids can’t eat in 2014 – blame the PLP!
You do remember that Beyoncé was booked before the recession hit right (Also you do know the concert sold out)…..
Were you also as mad when the PLP borrowed money to make sure teachers were not fired and seniors got healthcare – or should the PLP just shut down the schools and let your parents die.
Get a grip! If we keep fighting each other we will never prosper. Someone is talking about kids who can’t eat – asking for help – and you are talking about a concert that happened 6 years ago… Grow up!
Yes, it is the PLPs fault. That $60m wasted on Grand Atlantic could have helped a few kids now, couldn’t it.
According to your logic two wrongs make a right. PLP left us with nothing & then OBA gave away $50 K to a country that already has received a accumulation of BILLIONS from other countries & charities. Where did this $50 K come from if nothing was left in the barrel? Are you that naive to believe the government received loans without accrued interest? Who will be the ones to take on that interest? It surely won’t be those graced with our charity despite their countries GDP being $454.286 billion while ours is a measly $5.47 billion. I know you have strong prejudices about Bermudians Sandy but would you stoop so low as to push aside the fact that Bermudian CHILDREN are in need to spite Bermudians?
Wait up if we did not help then what would have been the talk here. Did we not give twice once to the Philippines and once to the St. Lucia and St. Vincent flood victums these countries that have links here? Was there not a whole bunch of people on here upset that we did not go to the aid of our Caribbean brothers and sisters right away like we did with the Philippines.
LOL
Please source where our present government gave to Caribbean flood victims as I can’t find anywhere that states they did. There are articles about PLP giving to Caribbean flood victims but they didn’t give from government relief funds. Besides most of what was given to the Caribbean was supplies not monies while the Philippines insisted that no supplies should be given instead only money should be donated. Even if the government did give to Caribbean flood victims my objection would be the same since you shouldn’t give what you don’t have as this would be like overdrawing a credit card to make a donation. I could care less what the talk would be & neither should the government since own backyards should be maintained before helping others. What’s the use of giving your last piece of bread to your neighbours while you let your children starve. China gave 100 K & still received criticism from the Filipino government for giving too little. So what did our borough from Peter to donate to Paul look like to them if china’s 100K was not enough? We are represented by the UK & they donated millions plus sent troops before our $50K got there. There are hundreds of countries in turmoil & we are not in the position to assist them & shouldn’t be expected to when we need assistance ourselves.
Maybe Bermudians shouldn’t have given $2m to Haiti. It’s a pathetic argument.
What’s truly pathetic is that as always you have circumvented the comment by mentioning something that’s neither here or there. Regardless of where the monies went it shouldn’t have gone there it should have stayed in Bermuda where it’s been loaned for. Lets all imagine for a moment what would happen if we sent $50K to every single country that needs it. Why show favouritism when remaining neutral is a more logical thing to do in our current situation.
And we all know you’re anti-Phillipino. That’s what irks you about that particular action.
I’m not anti-Phillipino I’m anti-marginalization of locals. Just because I’ve pointed out much of Bermuda’s medial jobs have been taken by Filipino’s doesn’t mean I’m against them it’s just a stated fact. My problem is with employers in Bermuda who rather hire foreign workers over Bermudians. If Bermuda was much bigger & there were many jobs to go around there wouldn’t be an issue but this isn’t the case. Many Bermudians need these medial jobs because they didn’t all graduate from law or insurance school & despite them being on the lower tier of the economy they still have the right to be able to gain employment wherever they can fit in.
That’s funny because you come across as anti- Black Bermudian.
So the OBA has cash put aside to give away to far away lands while our own suffer????
I think we probably could’ve used that 50k after all .
For sure! If between $12,000 to $15,000 feeds students in need we could have fed our children 3 or more times over. Maybe we should appeal to President Benigno S. Aquino III for assistance since his countries many islands are abundant with natural resources & earns an estimated $448.816 billion more than us yearly.
Huh?
OBA is sitting on $750m and the people that will pay the principle and the interest on that loan are these children.
Any money is needs to pay expenses the PLP contracted us into over the next few years at a rate cheaper than we could get it then.
Then why was $50 K given to a country with a GDP of $454.286 billion instead of used, “to pay expenses the PLP contracted us”? Are the Bermudian populace considered less important to OBA then others? I guess the last question is slightly rhetorical since the first push to action by our new government was to make changes that benefited foreigners before tackling issues that affected locals.
Everybody’s hurting…get it?!
While I appreciate the need, the school should focus on academics, grades, standards and teaching. Social Services should deal with unfortunate social cases impacted by the recession.
I guess you have no problem working effectively on an empty stomach.
too many parents don’t see this coming. no I’m not psychic but I’m glad having a single child didn’t turn into a financial burden. maybe we should be more careful when indulging in ‘mutual gratification’
Life twist & turns are unexpected & there are multitudes of scenarios that could have lead to parents not being able to afford necessities for their children. Just because fate has dealt you & those who agree with you a good hand does not give you & them the right to prejudge others & look down your nose at them. There are lots of locals who have been laid off to be replaced by foreigners which they wouldn’t have seen coming since the law of the land is supposed to protect them from this. Your assuming that all of these children in need are the product irresponsible, “indulging in ‘mutual gratification’” is a disgusting shameful contortion that shows your condescension towards locals who are not as fortunate as you.
Yur fulla ish…I didn’t suggest or assume that all hungry children are a product of their parents irresponsible behavior. But I bet if more of us had seriously considered the financial consequences that come with parenthood this story wouldn’t be front page news.
Since I’m not a psychic either & neither is any other reader of your comments why not make it clear who your comment pertains to. The article is about Cedarbridge students so is this who you are directing your comment to? Unless you make it clear all we can do is guess & guess again.
How doing a penny drive, a bake sale, car wash or grub day and put some of the responsibility on the students to make a difference…and get some community service hours as well. Yes what you are doing is wonderful, but how much fundraising was done on your own? Just think – if every student and faculty member paid $5 for grub day..how much money would be in your kitty that month…
As attractive as that sounds, what you are basically saying is that the students should be responsible for feeding themselves – and each other. That is wrong. That should not have to fall into their laps. Adults (firstly the parents, secondly, community organizations if the parents are having difficulty) should be assisting our youth in times of need.
I do believe students need to be responsible, and there is nothing wrong with having a bake sale, car wash, etc for something like a school trip or to pay for the prom, but we are talking about basic necessities here. Society has an obligation to provide for the most vulnerable among us.
The Government has the money, there are funds earmarked for charitable giving such as this, it is time for them to step up and put money into this program to assist our youth.
‘The Government has the money’
Your joking right?
Enough to pay themselves a CEO’s salary for part time work.
nothing new there…..the question is are they gonna produce results that trickle down….I think yes
If you have a business I would love to come & work for you so I could get big money for little results. In the corporate world when someone is payed that type of salary the investors expect results a heck of a lot sooner then 5 years & they expect promises not to be broken unless hard evidence is provided for why they are broken not more promises of what dreams MAY come. Even if by chance something does trickle down who would it trickle down to? I doubt if it will trickle down to locals who need it since already the ideas of job creation are jobs that preexisted in Bermuda given mainly to foreign workers.
No, I’m not joking. As I stated, Government has funds set aside for charitable giving every budget year. If we can donate to the Phillipines typhoon victims at the drop of a hat, then I do not believe we do not funds for this purpose.
Unless, of course, you want to argue that helping Bermudians, espcially our young people, is not a priority for this Government.
Ah, OBA is sitting on $750 million right now.
That sounds like money that is available to me
I disagree feeding the children is the parents’ responsibility. They brought them into the world they have a responsibility to take care of them. I think the PTA have the ability to help here see my below suggestions on other organizations as an alternative to more Government spending (read increasing debt. Or are the parents at the school saying their kids aren’t worth the sacrifice?
LOL
the Government should only be a last resort to this. But Parties can and should help. anyone listening or are they to busy with political point scoring.
When the OBA begins to target programs that benefit our Children than there going stir up a lot of bad dust.
The PLP will run them to the ground for this. – it will also be the perfect tool for the next election.
Why do you think they will? Have they ever said that?
The smart man on the street knows that this was not the OBA’s creation. Granny always said “save your penny’s for a rainy day…you might have to catch the pink and blue!”
Oh give me a break.
Ms. Jackson noted that the program was sustained in the past by private donations (i.e. businesses, churches etc.).
Thus it has nothing to do with the Government cutting back.
And where was all the ‘bad dust’ when the PLP, in their last budget, cut the funding to Mirrors, Sunshine League, Salavation Army, rolled back the eligbility threshold of the Day Care Allowance as well as reinstating tuition at the College after promising it to be free for all.
Yes X man must have just started following the non sense we call politics here yesterday.
LOL
This is the inevitable fallout of years of mismanaging the economy by the previous administration.
Too many expensive shiny things were acquired with no regard to ballooning costs.
The new guys need a huge mop and bucket to clear up the mess left behind and it will take years.
What a job having to clean up the disaster left behind!
I feel sorry for them.
Sorry but is the PTA at Cedarbridge functioning? When is the last fund raiser for the school? Do they have any in the works? Take control of your school parents! Seriously your kids don’t have food why wait for the Government handout. What about the Greek organizations here they can’t help out in any way maybe a concert or show with the proceeds going to the food coupons at the school. PLP or OBA who cares what are people going to do about this. This is when scoring political points is a useless exercise. Here’s an idea why don’t those within politics who are made people why don’t they show these kids they care get some food down there and hey here’s another one they could serve the food to the kids both PLP and OBA should work together on this leave the government funding out of it and do it cause you both care that’s why you got into politics in the first…..right?
LOL
How about these kids’ own parents make sure they get fed? And if they don’t have a job and can’t afford to feed the children they brought into this world, why can’t THEY go to the school and volunteer to help raise funds to feed their kids?
I wonder how many of these parents have the latest Samsung smartphone (or students for that matter)..?
It might be difficult to raise money if its going to be used by students to buy meals in a cafeteria restaurant, no matter how great the need. Companies might view it as a bit frivolous to buy Johnny pancakes and maple syrup in the morning and a hamburger and fries for lunch.
A better solution might be to leverage the student body and use the food and nutrition classes to design and prepare healthy meals for those. The afternoon classes can prepare healthy breakfast muffins for the next morning. The morning classes can prepare healthy soups and baked breads for lunches. Early morning volunteers can prepare oatmeal with cinnamon and banana … The opportunity for creativity and meal planning is wide open.
Maybe the business students could get involved and create their own “Cedar-coin” to be used for student meals and avoid any stigma associated with vouchers.
Ingredients are bought wholesale, the classes learn healthy cooking and gain volunteer hours. And it would be much easier to raise funds if they’re used to expose students to a wider range of skills.
+1 yes great idea.
LOL
NOW THAT IS A PLAN!
That is a sensible idea as it will also teach the kids skills in culinary and instill knowledge on nutrition.
Great idea!
So when are you going to go up to Cedarbridge and speak to Mrs. Richards or the PTA to present and help implement your novel ideas? Talk and Walk! Be the change you want to see!
Family Man,
That is not a bad plan, and it could work, however, I think the Food and Nutrition classes are only elective classes, meaning, that they may not be offered Monday to Friday, both morning and afternoon (someone who knows the CB schedule may be able to verify if that is the case.) If the classes are only on certain days/ times, than someone is going to have to make up for the shortfall in between.
Also, someone will also have to provide funding for the wholesale goods – feeding more students means more supplies and more money. Perhaps the wholesale companies can donate the items or offer them to the school cheaply. Either way, I don’t see how the program can continue without some funding, from somewhere.
Why is it that whenever something goes wrong it has to be the PLP or OBA fault.PLP helped with nursery fees which should have never happened and all it contributed to was for them to make more children and more money to waste cellpones,ipads iphone you name they have them.Now hey are complaining about the PLP.As long as they were getting from the PLP they were happy.The OBA are
in, ow the OBA is the problem in there eyes.OBA are like Obama they have to clean up the mess before they getting started.People on this island stop complaining and be responsible for yourselves
If I have children I am responsible for all of them not OBA or PLP.Why have two when you can’t afford one child.Don’t blame be responsible for your own actions because life is what you make it.
That’s great Family Man..it’s a start… Now Family Man needs some more people for his ‘CB think-tank’ project! let’s get this solved folks…
Surely when negotiating the catering contract, it would not be unreasonable for the school to negotiate a proviso to provide lunch to 15 students – out of the whole student body of the school? Given the amount of waste at most restaurants and catering gigs, i cannot imagine it would have a massive dent in their profits.
its amazing that a country with a native population of just over 50k persons cannot come together to assist in providing daily sustenance for its young people
perhaps the blame is not wholly on Bermudians themselves but rather on the fact that Bermuda is a remote island removed from the rest of humanity by 700 nautical miles of ocean
I recall watching a national geographic channel documentary about a newly discovered human species on the island of Florens in the Indonesian archipelago
the human species was referred to as a hobbit because of its diminutive size. Apparently it was originally a normal sized human species being 6 feet tall but as a consequence of being isolated on an island for generations it shrunk to 3 feet to be better able to adapt to its environment
can it also be said that Bermudians been faced with a similar environmental challenge are beginning to be reduced to the statue of hobbits
as people have been residing in Bermuda for no more than 400 years perhaps the size of their physical bodies have yet to show evidence of reduction but can the same be said for their minds
kindly get your act together
U had this problem under the plp regime..worse…pls put the blame at the perpetrators..plp…these lotmismanaged this island of its last dime…get real ppl and educate on basic and fundamental MATHS!!!!
Remember how the brainwashed parents of these hungry students were jumping for joy for plp win the last 14yrs…now they are facing reality of their folly..
the plp are now in their eternal comforts and the fools must eat the bread the devil knead
Bermudians rallied together and donated to try and save a local bar last year.
Will we do the same for our children?
U ppl don’t get it that the pop bled us dry..
Leaving us in econ.decline,unrest,social ills that we can’t find a way out
Unfortunately; it may get worse before it gets better. More and more programs are going to feel the same pinch. This is not the first and probably will not be the last until things in Bermuda (economy) turn around.
We can argue money spent on this and money spent on that. It’s the PLP’s fault, it’s the OBA’s fault. This will not fix the problems. As Jim has alluded to; an economy decline will always lead to social ills and unrest. I am not one bit surprised to see the political party followers at each other’s throat on EVERY topic. Every issue Bermuda faces will result in a war of words between parties while nothing gets resolved.
It will take every-one coming together to fix Bermuda, but as long as parties cling to power and leadership of this country putting their political goals first; it will NEVER happen.
We need a change of thought from the leaders of our country; or simply do away with Party Politics.
How much food could be bought for the money wasted on Grand Atlantic, Faith Based Tourism, LDC; overruns on Berkley, Court Building, Heritage Wharf, TCD, Housing Corporation. I don’t need to go on!
We knew this was coming…all that waste for 14 yes…what do U expect? And the innocent will suffer from self/interest pOliticians
For the record Cedarbridge is NOT the only school on the island that provides meals for students so the need is much greater than the 20 or so students that they are assisting. …why does EVERY and ANY thing have to be about politics….we cannot “undo” any political errors that were done in the past by UBP or PLP…..the problem of our young people going hungry exists NOW…..
Family Man is on the money and solution focused!!! What a brilliant idea of adapting the addage of “teaching a man how to fish rather than feeding them for a day!!”
The “GREEDY” public school teachers union are at it again.
An education for a public school student is $28,000 a year.
An education for a PRIVATEE school student is $18,000 a year.
STOP with the begging as more and more money will never fix the problem
Besides from government figure 70% of our population is over weight or OBESE.So how about some “FAT people donating some food,then they would have less medical problems.
Isn’t there a “PRIVATE school” overlooking the books for this very school that this programs funds ran dry??