Guyanese mining executive, philanthropist and CEO of Tesouro Resources, Dean Hassan yesterday announced his brand new initiative, “Dean Hassan Giving Voices Grants.”
This programme, which will begin in January 2018, is aimed at providing a grant of a minimum of $1,000,000 to each of six Orphanages in Georgetown. Each Institution will be given an opportunity to design a detailed programme that can directly benefit the orphans of each institution. The programme must be designed where more than 80 percent of the funds must be spent directly on the project and funds for administration must be separately approved. The Grant committee explained that more of these Grants will continue into 2019 and 2020 for Institutions that design a sustainable and repeatable programme. The programme is not a competition, each institution could qualify.
Tesouro Resources General Manager Jaswick Williams (Center) poses with the heads of the 6 Orphanages that will receive Christmas Gifts and Lunchs during the Christmas Season.
The Dean Hassan Giving Voices Grants programme was announced at a meeting to the Heads of the Orphanages by the Grant Committee at the Tesouro Resources office in Kingston.
The Orphanages to benefit are the St. Ann’s Orphanage, Shaheed’s Boys and Girls Orphanage, St. John’s Bosco Orphanage, Ruimveldt Children’s Home and Care Centre, Joshua House Children Centre and the Sophia Care Centre.
The Grant committee is made up of veteran journalist, Julia Johnson, PR Consultant Alex Graham and Chairman of the committee, Rt’d Col. Jaswick Williams, General Manager of Tesouro Resources. The committee members were all anxious to see what programmes would be developed by each institution.
Rt’d. Col. Williams said, “I’ve been working with these institutions for close to three years and I know that each institution will put their best effort in this initiative.”
Dean Hassan said that his passion for giving continues because he believes that he has been truly blessed. Dean said “Over the last three years, we have seen these children grow and develop and we want to do even more for them by providing these grants”. He went on to explain that he wants to give a voice to the voiceless and throw his support behind the less fortunate in any way he can.
In addition, Tesouro Resources commenced their annual tradition of the Christmas Toys and Lunch Programme today at the Joshua House Children’s Home. They will continue their vists to other orphanages this week. Tesouro Resources over the last three years visited the orphanages around Georgetown where they treat the orphans to a specially prepared lunch and present them with gifts for the Christmas Season.