Kids for Charity makes annual donation to UWI
FUNDRAISER Courtney Foster last Thursday presented a cheque, valued at $230,000, to the University of the West Indies for the Dr Norman Sinclair Memorial Medical Scholarship.
The scholarship will be awarded to a needy medical student of the university’s choice.
The money was raised at Foster’s annual Kids for Charity Fashion Show, held on September 6 at the Altamont Court Hotel in New Kingston.
The show featured Foster and her friends who modelled designs from some of Jamaica’s top retail stores, including Elan for Women, Kerry Manwomanhome, Beautiful Brides and Mr Tux, Maxie Department Store, Shades of Africa, Neahlis, Mushrooms and New Liguanea Fashions.
This year, the exciting siblings Kimberly and Giselle Reynolds were guest artistes. Guest speaker was president of the Guild of Undergraduates at the University of the West Indies, Jovaughn Neil. The master of ceremonies was Miguel Palmer.
Sinclair, a former schoolboy athlete in whose honour the scholarship has been named, is a graduate of St Mary High School and Kingston College. He was a native of Enfield, St Mary and from humble beginnings.
“This outstanding Jamaican was the first athlete from St Mary High School to win points for his school at a national athletic championship’ when, as an unknown country boy, he ran a close third to the great Donald Quarrie, then of Camperdown High School and Norman Walters of Kingston College, at Boys’ Champs in 1965,” said a release from Kids for Charity. “At Kingston College, he continued to excel both at sports and academically and was a member of Kingston College’s track team’s 14 straight wins. “Sinclair was awarded a track scholarship from Kingston College to the United States and eventually graduated as a physician from the State University of New York (Stonybrook campus). He practised medicine at a number of prominent hospitals in New York, including Kings County, Downstate Medical, Kingsbrook Jewish and Brookdale Medical before going into private practice.”
He died in 1996, at age 45, of leukaemia, leaving wife Sharon and children, Norman Jnr and Tisa. At his funeral, Foster — his niece — vowed to honour his memory and so, established the scholarship the following year. Sinclair was an older brother of her mother, Janett.
The Dr Norman Sinclair Memorial Medical Scholarship scholarship has so far helped 13 medical students at the Mona campus.