CIVIL engineering firm M&M Jamaica Ltd has added three tertiary scholarships to its raft of outreach intervention programmes, one of which will be awarded to a Balaclava High School student to pursue mathematics.

The announcement was made at a recent ceremony at the company’s offices in Kingston, where Managing Director Don Mullings, along with company director Richard Mullings and executive assistant Donnique Mullings, donated more than 50 scientific calculators and geometry sets to Balaclava High School.

“We selected Balaclava High for the donation because the school participates in our annual mathematics competition, but also because we have been doing a project in the area. Wherever we work we also like to give back and assist the community. This has heavily influenced our decision,” the managing director explained.

The remaining scholarships will be awarded to two students from inner-city communities in the Corporate Area. This brings the number of tertiary students the company sponsors to eight, with assistance ranging from $100,000 to $300,000 annually for the duration of the course of study, up to four years.

“I thank M&M for its generosity, not only for making the awards but for the vision of the competition and for helping some of our less-fortunate students to better themselves,” said Paula Miller, principal of Balaclava High School.

M&M’s scholarship programme is financed through the M&M Chance Fund, which was established to drive the firm’s outreach programmes, a main arm being the annual M&M Mathematics Competition. Held in high schools across St Elizabeth, the competition aims to enhance the quality of mathematics education in the parish while inspiring love for the subject and improved performance.

The company’s outreach also includes the M&M Entrepreneurs Fund, which provides collateral-free financial assistance to small business start-ups.

“It’s genuinely about giving young, promising students from struggling families a chance. I invite other companies to join M&M in making it their responsibility to help in the development of Jamaica, especially its young people,” Mullings urged.