New fundraising group to benefit Jamaica

The Friends of Jamaica, a new fundraising group created by SMU employees touched by educational efforts in Jamaica, will support our students and partner in Jamaica.

Since 2008, SMU and the Catholic College of Mandeville (CCM) have been offering the Master of Education in Teaching and Learning program to students in Mandeville, Jamaica.  Nearly 100 students have graduated and about 60 students are in the program each year.

Together, our institutions are contributing to positive change in teaching and learning in classrooms across Jamaica. CCM began building a new campus a little over a year ago and the hope is to move some offices and classes to the new campus in January 2013.

The Friends hope to raise enough money to outfit one classroom that our students will be using.  In future years, the hope is to provide a partial scholarship to a graduate student in the M.Ed. in Jamaica.

The Friends will host several events this year on both campuses to raise money with the help of the SMU community. The combined donations will be presented in May 2013. The first event is Sweets for Seats on Nov. 19 on the Winona campus. Watch for more details. Whether you buy a cookie, donate $1 or just wish us well, everyone is thanked in advance for their support. Thank yous also go to the Winona Campus Volunteer Committee for the donation from the Boo-Fet Luncheon held earlier this week.

Anyone who would like to join the Friends of Jamaica group or if an existing group would like to assist, should contact Tracy Lehnertz, Roger Peckover, Suzanne Peterson, Janel Schultz, or Scott Sorvaag.