Two former members of staff at St Mary’s University, Twickenham will be honoured by the University’s Strawberry Hill Overseas and Community Concern (SHOCC) charity in memory of their generous support.
St Mary’s former Geography lecturer Amy Hemmings will be honoured alongside former Vice-Principal Antony Kenney at a Catholic girls’ secondary school in Muthetheni, Kenya. Three science laboratories are currently being renovated at the school, which is to receive £28,000 funding from SHOCC, and will be named after the lecturers. After sadly passing away at the end of 2013, Amy donated £40,000 to the charity which will help fund the school’s renovations as well as five other projects.
Antony, who was also the Head of Science while at St Mary’s, passed away in August 2014 and a collection from his funeral was donated to SHOCC. With the agreement of Antony’s family, a plaque bearing both Antony and Amy’s names will be put up in the school with an official opening planned in the summer of 2015.
With £20,000 already sent to the school, renovations have started and will be completed by mid-January. Kevin Cook, a trustee of SHOCC, recently returned from a personal visit to Kenya where he took time out to check on the progress of the renovations. The benches, flooring and channels for gas, electricity and water have all been installed ahead of schedule and work is proceeding exceptionally well.
Other projects to receive funding include a donation of £770 towards purchasing school books for Grassroots, Tanzania; £2,500 towards the construction of a reflexology/massage room at Proyecto Vida, Guatemala; £2,000 towards the work of the Foundation for Needy Children in Grenada and £2,000 to pay for the construction of a well at Kusiomumo Secondary School in Machakos, Kenya.
Following the construction of classrooms at St Kevin’s School, Marigat, Kenya in 2013 and 2014, nearby St Paul’s Primary School is to receive £4,500 to complete the construction of a kitchen block and renovate eight classrooms, some of which were constructed with financial support from SHOCC.
SHOCC trustee Kevin Cook said, “Funding these many projects at this scale represents our largest distribution of money for many years. It was made possible by our receiving a legacy of over £40,000 from Ms Amy Hemmings and financial support from the Kenney family. Both Amy and Antony were always great supporters of SHOCC’s work during their lives and they will be remembered through their generosity.”
Antony, who was also the Head of Science while at St Mary’s, passed away in August 2014 and a collection from his funeral was donated to SHOCC. With the agreement of Antony’s family, a plaque bearing both Antony and Amy’s names will be put up in the school with an official opening planned in the summer of 2015.
With £20,000 already sent to the school, renovations have started and will be completed by mid-January. Kevin Cook, a trustee of SHOCC, recently returned from a personal visit to Kenya where he took time out to check on the progress of the renovations. The benches, flooring and channels for gas, electricity and water have all been installed ahead of schedule and work is proceeding exceptionally well.
Other projects to receive funding include a donation of £770 towards purchasing school books for Grassroots, Tanzania; £2,500 towards the construction of a reflexology/massage room at Proyecto Vida, Guatemala; £2,000 towards the work of the Foundation for Needy Children in Grenada and £2,000 to pay for the construction of a well at Kusiomumo Secondary School in Machakos, Kenya.
Following the construction of classrooms at St Kevin’s School, Marigat, Kenya in 2013 and 2014, nearby St Paul’s Primary School is to receive £4,500 to complete the construction of a kitchen block and renovate eight classrooms, some of which were constructed with financial support from SHOCC.
SHOCC trustee Kevin Cook said, “Funding these many projects at this scale represents our largest distribution of money for many years. It was made possible by our receiving a legacy of over £40,000 from Ms Amy Hemmings and financial support from the Kenney family. Both Amy and Antony were always great supporters of SHOCC’s work during their lives and they will be remembered through their generosity.”Media enquiries
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