'Dollars for Hours' concept making a positive impact

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5: In these gloomy economic times it is reassuring that PartnerRe is continuing with its ‘Dollars for Hours’ initiative. 

The concept is project-based, and offers local secondary students the opportunity to raise money for their school, and at the same time giving their hands-on support to local charities.

According to a press release, “Dollars For Hours: Youth and Community in Partnership” will distribute a total of $240,000 to public and private schools.

Eight secondary schools will earn $30,000 each when their students team up with local charities again under the project led by PartnerRe Ltd.

PartnerRe president and CEO Costas Miranthis said: “This is the sixth time that PartnerRe has paired local charities with the secondary schools, bringing our total Dollars for Hours donation to over $1,240,000 since the programme’s inception in 2006,”. 

“As a Bermudian com-pany, we have a sincere interest in Bermuda and in particular, the education of our young people.

“We hope that Dollars for Hours will continue to raise awareness, provide a valuable team building experience for the students and complete important projects for a wide range of charities.”

Students aged 14 to 18 from CedarBridge, Saltus, Somersfield, Berkeley, Bermuda High School, Bermuda Institute, Warwick Academy and Mount Saint Agnes will take part in “Dollars for Hours,” with each school adopting a different charity project.

The participating non-profit organizations that stand to benefit from the programme include Summerhaven, Bermuda National Trust, Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, Habitat for Humanity, Crime Stoppers, WindReach Recreational Village, Greenrock and the Bermuda Audubon Society.

The projects include environmental schemes, heritage and health-related initiatives.

Summerhaven
Summerhaven/Saltus

The project’s aim is to enhance the front entrance to the Summerhaven property to make the space more inviting and improve the overall experience for the people who live there as well as family members who come to visit. 

Bermuda National Trust

The project will focus on the removal of invasive species from the Gladys Morrell Reserve.

Students will learn about native and endemic plant species and ecosystems, sustainability and conservation management.

Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS)

The Education Department at BIOS will continue its ongoing Woodland Restoration Project. 

This task includes a visit to the school by the BIOS education officer to teach basic ecological concepts and to prepare the students for the hands-on portion of the job and spending a day at Coopers Island Nature Reserve, removing invasive plant species and replacing them with native and endemic species .

Habitat for Humanity

With this project, Habitat Bermuda will assist a selection of families to make improvements to their homes that will help provide a safe, secure and healthy living space for them. This project will involve  painting, landscaping and maintenance duties.

Crime Stoppers

In light of the increased crime rate in Bermuda, Crime Stoppers has decided boost their marketing campaign by producing a calendar that will be sent to each household in Bermuda.

The project will entail designing the artwork for that calendar.

To do this students will need to learn about the role that Crime Stoppers plays in detecting and reducing crime in Bermuda .

They will create 12 different Crime Stoppers related designs for the monthly pages of the calendar.

WindReach

As WindReach continues to enrich and promote the educational and therapeutic component of their Petting Zoo they are looking to give the zoo a creative ‘face lift’.

The project will involve: painting of zoo walls —both inside and outside and designing and repainting an existing mural.

Greenrock

Healthy harvest community garden to promote planting, harvesting, purchasing and eating local produce.

The aim of this project is to revive Bermuda’s local food production and consumption by re-engaging the community to get involved in planting, harvesting, purchasing and eating local produce.

Bermuda Audubon Society

With this project, the Bermuda Audubon Society would like the students to repair old blue bird boxes as well as construct new ones. Bermuda’s bluebirds are threatened through loss of habitat and the erection of man-made boxes will help ensure their survival in Bermuda.

School students will complete each task within one or two weekends (12–24 hours).

PartnerRe will cover the cost of materials and will coordinate a reception (in early December) where the students create an exhibition which showcases the work that they’ve done.