Gore Family Foundation changing lives through education

The Phillip and Christine Gore Family Foundation has continued to increase its investment in education, which the Gores say is central to Jamaica’s development.

The foundation now assists with the management of 10 basic schools in the Kingston area; has started high school life skills programmes at Jamaica College and Alpha and remedial programmes at Charlie Smith High School and St Andrew Technical High School; and continues to increase the scholarships that it offers to students at the tertiary level at The Mico University College (Mico), The University of the West Indies (UWI) and the University of Technology (UTech), now having over 150 ‘Gore Scholars’ in total.

Last year, the Gore Family Foundation increased its scholarship donation for its two annual scholarships at UTech to $2.4 million. These scholarships are the Gore Developments Limited (Gore Homes) Scholarship for students pursuing Construction Management in UTech’s School of Building & Land Management and the E. Nadine Isaacs Memorial Scholarship for students pursuing Bachelors Degrees in Architecture in the Caribbean School of Architecture.

When asked about the decision to increase these scholarships Phillip Gore, the chairman of Gore Homes, said, “We cannot turn a blind eye to the unprecedented need of these students, many of whom will be future leaders in Jamaica’s construction industry. It is because of this need that last year our $2.4-million donation to UTech was divided among 15 deserving students. In addition to providing these scholarships, we also expose Gore scholars at UTech to various projects and experiences at the Foundation and at Gore Homes that we believe will be valuable in helping them to hone their skills before formally entering the profession. We will continue to do our part and encourage others to rise to the occasion as well.”

Mico scholarships

At Mico, the Foundation also offers two scholarships.

One of these scholarships is the James F. Gore Memorial Scholarship for students in Mico’s Pre University Men’s Programme, which helps to respond to the shortage of men in the classroom and in teacher training institutions in Jamaica. The other is the Clarice May Gore Memorial Scholarship, which assists aspiring practitioners in the field of Early Childhood Education.

In discussing these scholarships, Christine Gore, executive director of the Foundation, indicated that “the inconsistent quality of education being delivered to students has been widely highlighted as a major problem contributing to the education crisis that exists in Jamaica today”.

She added, “We believe that a part of the solution to this problem is investing in our teachers to ensure that they have the requisite skills to teach our students, particularly now, given the learning loss that we have faced coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Finally, in 2020, the Foundation began the Lisa Gore Seifart Endowment Fund, continuing a longstanding relationship with The UWI, and carrying on and expanding on the legacy of Gore Seifart. Gore Seifart was a clinical psychologist who sought to better the lives of people dealing with mental illness. Gore Seifart was a relentless advocate for mental health wellness and education and the Gore family said they were proud to support students who seek to pursue similar career paths and continue the important work that she did.