RBC understands the crucial role educators play in the sustainable development of Trinidad and Tobago.The bank recently demonstrated its commitment to their work by donating more than $250,000 to three organisations that are focused on delivering quality education.
The beneficiaries of this gift from the Royal Bank Education Foundation were The School Leadership Centre, Fatima College and The Cotton Tree Foundation (CTF). For the past 13 years, the School Leadership Centre has devoted its efforts to empowering principals and teachers to improve learning and teaching in the classroom. In 2011, the Centre, together with RBC, launched the Zippy and Friends programme in 13 schools.
This initiative, developed by the Partnership for Children which is a UK-based charity, trains primary school teachers to recognise and manage children who are unable to cope with stress and display certain types of mental health issues.The bank supplied further funding for the programme in 2012 to train teachers in nine additional schools, making it a total of 22 participating primary schools funded by RBC.
RBC's support will provide the Centre with additional funding to provide monitoring in the existing schools and upgrade the programme with new materialand training.
Fatima College has earned itself a reputation for producing outstanding scholars who have excelled in their chosen professions at home and abroad. Graduates from the school have become statesmen, sporting icons, entrepreneurs and captains of industry. The college recently constructed a new wing on its compound which will provide much needed classroom space for their Form Six students.
The space now houses the geography room, technical drawing and language labs, and art, music and drama/performing rooms and will also facilitate enhanced delivery of the curriculum using the latest advancements in education and technology. The funding from RBC will go towards outfitting these rooms with the appropriate furnishings to provide students with quality education and access to state-of-the-art learning tools and equipment.
The main goal of the Cotton Tree Foundation is to offer quality education and assistance to the under-served members of the St Ann's, Cascade, East Dry River and Belmont communities.
The Foundation is planning to introduce a new programme geared towards instilling a love of Mathematics among pre-school and primary school children who live in the communities where it operates. Through the use of technology and creative tools such as Numicon software, interactive whiteboards and smartboards, and both indoor and outdoor educational games, Mathematics will be introduced in a simplified, easy to learn format.
The programme will be used in their Homework Club after school programme as well as for a vacation camp during the July holidays. It will also be used to help improve the math literacy scores for students preparing for the Secondary Entrance Assessment.Darryl White, managing director, RBC Royal Bank, said these latest donations were part of the bank's continued commitment to make a meaningful contribution to the communities in which it operates.
White said: "We are very grateful for the important work these orgnisations are doing, especially as it relates to children and young people. We count it a privilege to be able to invest in these projects as they have the power to create long-lasting, positive social change."RBC's investments across the region through charitable donations and sponsorship programmes reinforce our commitment to being an active corporate citizen."