FOE Quarter 3 Impact Report
The last three months brought several exciting milestones for Friends of Exuma. Exuma graduates headed off to university with meaningful financial support behind them, three new directors joined our Board, and a group of our young sailors are preparing for the world stage.
The last three months brought several exciting milestones for Friends of Exuma. Exuma graduates headed off to university with meaningful financial support behind them, three new directors joined our Board, and a group of our young sailors are preparing for the world stage.
There’s one more thing on the way. After months of work behind the scenes, our new website is nearly ready. It will be a place to learn more about our work, the organizations we support, and the difference your generosity makes across Exuma. We’ll share it with you very soon.
Here’s a look at what your support helped make possible this quarter:
Exuma Graduates Receive Scholarships from FOE
At Exuma Christian Academy’s commencement in June, four graduating seniors learned that the cost of their next chapter had just gotten a great deal lighter.
Jalynn McKenzie is off to London to study law at sixteen, with plans to practise at home and, one day, to start a scholarship fund of her own. Stanley Pitt is headed to the University of The Bahamas, weighing electrical engineering against family medicine. Winston Barr, the school’s head boy, will study management before aeronautics, intending to both fly planes and fix them back in The Bahamas. Jeremy Clarke is training for his commercial licences and a captain’s seat.
For the graduates, the money covers the parts of university that catch families off guard: tuition, accommodation, flights, the plain cost of getting there.
“You made a dream become a reality,” Winston said after the ceremony. “This lifts a huge burden off my parents’ shoulders.”
Keniqua Burrows, who founded the school and directs it, put the need plainly. “One of the challenges we have in Exuma is that we have so much talent, but there’s a small pool of resources.Every little help really goes a long way.”
“These scholarships are an investment in possibility,” said Bob Coughlin, President of Friends of Exuma. “When we invest in our young people, we invest in the future of Exuma itself.”
Friends of Exuma also granted $10,000 to the Nelson A. Ranger Scholarship Fund. Founded by Nelson Ranger, who benefited from scholarship opportunities as a young person and has dedicated himself to paying that gift forward, the fund supports students pursuing college and technical education and recognises excellence among students across Exuma. “I know firsthand how one opportunity can change the trajectory of a young person’s life,” Ranger said. “Every scholarship is an investment in a dream and a reminder to our students that their community is standing beside them. I’m incredibly grateful to Friends of Exuma for helping us continue this important work.”
Important Update from the Exuma Christian Academy
Exuma Christian Academy is an official SAT test center, so students in Great Exuma can sit the exam thousands of colleges ask for without leaving the island. The school also runs preparation classes for the SAT, BJC and BGCSE.
Register for the SAT (Select Exuma Christian Academy as test center)
Welcoming New Board Members
We’re thrilled to welcome three new Board Directors this quarter: Shona Perry, Ashley Stipes, and Craig Stipes. We’re grateful for their willingness to serve and excited to have their energy and perspective on the Friends of Exuma Board.
Shona Perry has spent the past year as General Manager of Grand Isle Resort, and the five before that in hospitality leadership across the Caribbean. Originally from Dublin, she came to Exuma a year ago and has not looked back.
“Exuma has welcomed me with open arms, and serving on the Friends of Exuma Board is a meaningful opportunity to give back to a community that has already given me so much.”
Ashley and Craig Stipes have been coming to Exuma since 2021 and supporting our work as donors along the way. Ashley, a Clemson graduate, has built a long record of community service in Greenville, South Carolina, including years on the advisory council of Homes of Hope. Craig leads the development and capital investment platforms at Broadstreet Partners, with twenty-five years in construction, finance and development behind him, experience that will serve our partners well as their projects grow.
We are glad to have their voices at the table and look forward to working together.
Congratulations, Katherine and Spencer Clark!
One more piece of happy news from our Board. Katherine Kieley Clark, who serves on the Friends of Exuma Board of Directors as our Treasurer, married Spencer Clark in August in Exuma! The whole Friends of Exuma family is celebrating with them, and wishing them every happiness.
Exuma Sailors Are Going to the Worlds!
This November, Team Bahamas races at the 55th ISCA World Championship in St. Croix, and Exuma sailors are part of that team.
These are young people who learned to sail in Elizabeth Harbour, on boats the Exuma Sailing Club keeps free and open to every child on the island. In a few weeks they line up against the best in the world. Getting them from The Bahamas to the start line in St. Croix takes flights, registration, lodging and boats. The team is raising that money now, and every dollar is shared evenly among the sailors.
If you would like to help send them, make a gift to Friends of Exuma and write “Exuma Sailing Club ISCA” in the notes on the donation form. We will make sure it reaches the team.
Something New is Coming!
We’ve spent much of this year creating a new online home for Friends of Exuma — a place to connect with the people and organizations we support, see the work your generosity makes possible, and follow the impact we’re building together.
It opens soon. We will let you know the moment it does!
In The Press
The Tribune: Friends of Exuma awards $20,000 in scholarships to invest in Exuma’s future
The Nassau Guardian: Friends of Exuma awards $20k in scholarshipss
Make a Donation
A gift to Friends of Exuma is tax-deductible in the United States, and it goes straight into the community you love. Give where the need is greatest, or tell us which part of our work you want to back and we will direct it there.
If Exuma holds a place in your heart, the surest way to protect what makes it special is to invest in its people.
