Following the postponement of the 2020 Geoff McPherson Scholarship Program due to COVID, CRS is again running the Scholarship Program in 2021, but with some changes.
CRS will be awarding 49 scholarships in 2021 to a total value of $38,500. As in previous years, the awardees are nominated by our partners, the ACT Education Directorate, CIT, Companion House, Australian Red Cross (ARC), NAVITAS, Max Solutions and CRS. All these organisations provide training or support to refugee and asylum seeker students in the Canberra region.
The purpose of the scholarships is to acknowledge and provide recognition of meritorious performance, and to encourage and support outstanding refugee students. The scholarships help the students cover education related costs such as fees, books, computers, or other materials for their studies.
Through this Program we want to say to the recipients that we welcome you to the Canberra region, we acknowledge what you have achieved so far, and we look forward to what you will contribute to your family and to the community in the future.
Normally scholarships are awarded at a major ceremony during United Nations World Refugee Week. This year, COVID restrictions mean that there will be a number of smaller ceremonies in June linked to the organisations that nominated the awardees. CRS hopes that we will be able to return to a single major ceremony in future years.
The scholarships being presented have been made possible by generous donations from the Canberra community. We particularly thank those individuals and community groups that have provided us with generous, continued, and longstanding support.
This year, as in previous years, the response to our fundraising has been wonderful. We would not be able to support our wonderful awardees without these contributions. All donations are vital to the work of CRS, and all contributions make a difference to our local refugee community. Thank you for your support. We will provide an update and more on the recipients of these awards once the presentations are complete.