{"id":7849,"date":"2021-01-08T16:24:52","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T20:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/?p=7849"},"modified":"2021-01-08T16:24:52","modified_gmt":"2021-01-08T20:24:52","slug":"heon-project-celebrates-6-years-of-empowerment-through-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/08\/heon-project-celebrates-6-years-of-empowerment-through-education\/","title":{"rendered":"HEON Project Celebrates 6 Years Of Empowerment Through Education\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Help Empower Our Nation (HEON Project) celebrates 6 years as a non-profit organisation that provides students with tuition and other assistance despite Covid-19 challenges.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The HEON Project President Janella Edwards said \u201cThe Project has been affected by this pandemic, but education is still a priority. I had never imagined that in just 6 six years, we would have achieved all that we did as an organisation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Project\u2019s inception began in 2014 when Edwards represented Grenada at the \u201cMy World, My SIDS\u201d (Small Island Developing States) Youth Consultation on Sustainable Development in Jamaica. She, along with 18 other delegates within the regions were tasked with identifying key areas for sustainable development. Edwards then decided on youth empowerment through education. \u201cThe idea of assisting tertiary students with their tuition resonated with me as I recall attending college and being the recipient of support from a community resident,\u201d she states.<\/p>\n<p>With the help of a few colleagues and friends the HEON Project was officially launched on 10 January 2015 with 3 students receiving tuition scholarships. However, as the years passed and other stakeholders within Corporate Grenada and generous citizens in the Diaspora joined the movement, the team saw the need to offer more than tuition fees. Edwards said, \u201cWe recognised that we could do so much more as a project to not only provide full tuition scholarships, but also assist recipients with their transition into college and provide additional mentorship.\u201d This led to the rebranding of the HEON abbreviation meaning from \u201cHelp Educate our Nation\u201d to \u201cHelp Empower our Nation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The dedication of the once small member team, now 21, has earned international recognition from the Queen\u2019s Young Leader\u2019s Programme in the United Kingdom and the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>However, no number of accolades could have prepared the HEON team for the effects of the pandemic. The Project\u2019s main fundraising event \u2013 a gala, was cancelled while some of its annual sponsors were not able to make their yearly contributions to the HEON Project Scholarship Fund. Yet, the team persisted. Edwards said, \u201cWe were not able to raise any money this year through our gala, but this pandemic encouraged my team and to think outside of the box.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the saying goes, with much effort is much reward.\u00a0 Fortunately for Edwards and her team, some stakeholders increased their sponsorship and the project also collaborated with the Ann Alexander Memorial Scholarship and Go Blue Incorporation to provide specific scholarships to students this year. The support from the Diaspora also included a donation of 2 laptops to assist recipients with accessing their online classes.<\/p>\n<p>To date, the Project has provided 47 students with scholarships to attend TA Marryshow Community College. Most of the recipients pursue degrees in Natural Sciences or Technical Studies.<\/p>\n<p>A 2015 HEON Project scholarship recipient Shirwyn Robert said, \u201cThe HEON Project encouraged an optimistic outlook for the future and allowed me to steadily carve a path in the world of programming and software development.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the challenges 2020 brought to the HEON Project, Edwards said \u201cwe are grateful for the\u00a0increase in sponsorship from some partners and anticipate increasing our fundraising efforts in 2021.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The HEON Project will not hold a physical ceremony to commemorate its 6th anniversary, but anticipates launching its website in 2021. For further information on the HEON Project visit the Facebook or Instagram page or send an email to\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:heonproject@gmail.com\">heonproject@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>HEON Project<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Help Empower Our Nation (HEON Project) celebrates 6 years as a non-profit organisation that provides students with tuition and other assistance despite Covid-19 challenges.\u00a0 The HEON Project President Janella Edwards said \u201cThe Project has been <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/08\/heon-project-celebrates-6-years-of-empowerment-through-education\/\" title=\"HEON Project Celebrates 6 Years Of Empowerment Through Education\u00a0\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7849","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-news"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20202021-Scholarship-Recipients.jpeg.jpg?fit=750%2C498&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20202021-Scholarship-Recipients.jpeg.jpg?fit=750%2C498&ssl=1",750,498,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20202021-Scholarship-Recipients.jpeg.jpg",750,498,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20202021-Scholarship-Recipients.jpeg.jpg",750,498,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20202021-Scholarship-Recipients.jpeg.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20202021-Scholarship-Recipients.jpeg.jpg?fit=300%2C199&ssl=1",300,199,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20202021-Scholarship-Recipients.jpeg.jpg?fit=750%2C498&ssl=1",750,498,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20202021-Scholarship-Recipients.jpeg.jpg?fit=750%2C498&ssl=1",750,498,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20202021-Scholarship-Recipients.jpeg.jpg?fit=750%2C498&ssl=1",750,498,true],"mh-magazine-slider":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20202021-Scholarship-Recipients.jpeg.jpg?resize=750%2C438&ssl=1",750,438,true],"mh-magazine-content":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20202021-Scholarship-Recipients.jpeg.jpg?resize=678%2C381&ssl=1",678,381,true],"mh-magazine-large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20202021-Scholarship-Recipients.jpeg.jpg?resize=678%2C498&ssl=1",678,498,true],"mh-magazine-medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20202021-Scholarship-Recipients.jpeg.jpg?resize=326%2C245&ssl=1",326,245,true],"mh-magazine-small":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/drealfmgrenada.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20202021-Scholarship-Recipients.jpeg.jpg?resize=80%2C60&ssl=1",80,60,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"adminrfm","author_link":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/author\/adminrfm\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/category\/news\/local-news\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Local News<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Help Empower Our Nation (HEON Project) celebrates 6 years as a non-profit organisation that provides students with tuition and other assistance despite Covid-19 challenges.\u00a0 The HEON Project President Janella Edwards said \u201cThe Project has been 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