Lyford Cay Foundation holds Thanksgiving ecumenical service

Lyford Cay Foundation holds Thanksgiving ecumenical service
(L-R) The Right Reverend Laish Z. Boyd, Sr. Diocesan Bishop; Deacon D'Arcy Rahming; Most Reverend Patrick Pinder, Archbishop of Nassau; Father Kendrick J. Forbes; and Darcy Louis (with red binder in hand) at the Lyford Cay Foundations Service of Thanksgiving last week. (PHOTO: LYFORD CAY FOUNDATION)

Governor-General and DPM Celebrate 50th Anniversary with Scholars and Board Members

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Lyford Cay Foundations held an ecumenical service of thanksgiving at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral as part of the elongated celebrations of its 50th anniversary.

Governor General Cornelius A Smith and Deputy Prime Minister K Peter Turnquest joined board members, scholars, and their families in grateful recognition of serving The Bahamas through strategic philanthropic investment in education.

The service of thanksgiving is the first event of its kind for the foundation, drawing a crowd of government officials, members of the diplomatic and consulate corps, and educators.

As a part of the service, Archbishop of Nassau Patrick Pinder delivered the homily, emphasizing the importance of civic organizations like Lyford Cay Foundations and the work they do to secure a bright future for The Bahamas.

“For so many, Lyford Cay Foundations is where they turn to ask in order to receive, to seek in order to find and to knock and have the door opened to them,” Pinder said.

Touting the impact of the organization’s work, Lyford Cay Foundation Inc. Chairman Basil Goulandris noted that over the past 50 years, more than 3,000 Bahamian students have benefited from post-secondary scholarships to attend both international institutions, as well as the University of The Bahamas.

“The impact of our Scholarships programme and partnership with UB reverberates throughout the country in our Lyford Cay Scholar alumni, most of whom are home in The Bahamas, working, running their own businesses, working in non-profits and much more,” Goulandris said.

(L-R) Kylie Nottage, Board Director, Lyford Cay Foundation Inc; Bruno Meier, Board Director, The Canadian Lyford Cay Foundation; Alessandra Holowesko, Board Director, Lyford Cay Foundation Inc; Tim Unwin, President, The Canadian Lyford Cay Foundation; Felicity Humblestone, Executive Director, Lyford Cay Foundations; Basil Goulandris, Chairman, Lyford Cay Foundation Inc; and Lynn Holowesko,  Board Director, Lyford Cay Foundation Inc.

While Lyford Cay Foundations is most known for its scholarships, it is also responsible for two other initiatives, including community grants and college access programming.

“Community Grants was our inaugural programme in the early seventies. We have supported some 250 community organizations throughout The Bahamas – spanning the full archipelago. But our newest programmes are in College Access. Our FOCUS programme supports some 240 students, for eight years of summer and Saturday programming, administered by Lyford Cay Foundations,” Goulandris said during his remarks at the service.

The non-profit organization has been active in Hurricane Dorian relief efforts as well, according to Tim Unwin, President of The Canadian Lyford Cay Foundation, who also spoke at the service.

“Recently, as we all were shaken by the terrible devastation faced in Abaco and Grand Bahama, our organization had the opportunity to mobilize our donor base and respond with a combined nearly $2.5 Million in committed relief and recovery funding,” he said.

Along with relief and recovery funding, Lyford Cay Foundations has also provided special Financial Assistance Grants to students from Grand Bahama and Abaco who are in college/university internationally, so that their studies are not interrupted.

The Community Grants programme has also funded organizations doing work with projects that impact youth and children, providing programming, educational resources, and other learning opportunities and a return to normalcy in their lives.

Members of the board, benefactors, beneficiaries and the foundations’ professional team plan to continue the celebrations of this milestone 50th anniversary into next year, with further celebration events slated for March and November.