Scottish Widows has provided 40 more gowns for graduates of the Isle of Man Children’s University, bringing the total it has sponsored to 100.
The company, part of the Lloyds Banking Group, was among the first in the island last year to become a lead sponsor of the Isle of Man Children’s University which on May 7th at St German’s Cathedral will hold its second graduation ceremony.
In addition to sponsoring the gowns Scottish Widows takes an active interest in the university as managing director Juan Clarke explained: ‘The Children’s University offers young people valuable opportunities to work towards achieving personal goals and developing all-important life skills, vital in an increasingly competitive jobs market and for meeting the demands of a global economy.
‘I was therefore pleased to be invited last year, along with my colleague Amanda Shimmin, to become a member of the Isle of Man Children’s University steering group and contribute to the work of this commendable organisation, respected internationally.
‘At the same time colleagues at Scottish Widows have been keen to support the Children’s University’s manager Carys Lloyd and her team, by acting as volunteers, so will be out in force at the graduation ceremony on May 7th.
‘We are also working in conjunction with the Isle of Man Children’s University to develop an annual competition to be sponsored by Scottish Widows, details of which should be finalised in the near future.
‘Our support of the Children’s University is very much in the spirit of what we - and the Lloyds Banking Group as a whole - do in terms of community engagement, principally forging productive long-term partnerships that encourage endeavour, especially among the younger generation, and contribute to making very real differences to people’s lives.’
The Children’s University (CU) aims to offer five to 14-year-olds high quality learning opportunities outside of normal school hours. Students are issued with a ‘passport to learning’ to chart their progress. Activities are conducted at validated public learning destinations across the island with students’ attendance recorded with stamps in their passports.
For more information visit iomcu.im, follow the CU on its Facebook page Isle of Man Children’s University or on the Twitter feed @IOMCU.
Photo - Isle of Man Children’s University’s chancellor Dr Jeremy Paul and manager Carys Lloyd with some of the graduates from the 2013 ceremony wearing Scottish Widows-sponsored gowns.
