Henry Franklyn Parker Awards Dinner and Dance

BY MICHAEL THOMAS

When English teacher Audrey Parker wanted to honor her father H. Franklyn Parker, who had passed away some years ago, she was wondering how she should go about this. Toronto Caribbean Newspaper spoke with Parker in depth about the H. Franklyn Parker Scholarship Awards Program, “Some years I don’t get to meet my goal, and I am not able to help as many students as I would like. It really gives me great joy helping these kids, and just to see the expressions of excitement on their faces when they realize that they are going to get a scholarship. Some of them come from low socioeconomic backgrounds and may never get a chance to get another scholarship and sometimes they don’t even know how to apply so I introduce them to other help as well.”

The 2019 H. Franklyn Parker Scholarship Awards Dinner and Dance was held at Le Tréport Wedding & Convention Centre, Mississauga, ON at 1075 Queensway East, on Saturday, June 8^th with a star-studded attendance list including: members of the Peel Police Force, Latoya Mullings, Susie Fayth and the incomparable Miss Liberty Silver who had the crowd in stitches with her renditions.

This Scholarship initiative began in the midst of Parker contemplating how she would honour her late father. One day she discovered that two of her hardworking students who were planning on continuing their education, did not have scholarships to help them out financially. Parker was heartbroken, and decided to team up with some of her friends in her backyard to change that situation once and for all. As luck would have it, they raised enough money to give both students scholarships to university. This was in August of 2013, and since then she and her team have seen many students through their educational journey. It had worked out perfectly; every year; Audrey would have the opportunity to honour her father’s memory, as well as give back to her community. It was a wonderful union of the parts in her life that meant the most to her.

Toronto Caribbean Newspaper caught up with some of the benefactors of the Henry Franklyn Parker Scholarship – past and present – for a little Q and A. Jasmeen Kabuli is now a law student who has been with the program since its inception in 2013. Kabuli explains, “This program has become a platform to build my dreams on. Even though it has been seven years since I received the scholarship, I keep coming back to the awards because I want to give back in whatever little way I can. This program helped me when I needed it most.”

Isaiah Homer who studies sports media said, “I am receiving a scholarship tonight; this means a lot to me and I am grateful to Mrs. Parker for allowing me to be here and receive this scholarship. This will help me get my degree from Ryerson, and pay for a big chunk of the program. I don’t know how far I would be able to get without it.”

Jahdon Lowe, an Art student said, “The H. Franklyn Parker Scholarship Awards means that I get to pursue a career in something that I am passionate about, like the arts successfully instead of something that is forced on me like math, science or business.”

Parker said the one thing that never stops amazing her, is seeing the students who have benefited from the program come back year after year. “I never know how many students I am able to support, but I always aim for six because it’s a very small program, and it is pretty much a one-woman show. I have lots of friends who help me out, but I never know how much I am going to get.” When asked how the scholarships are distributed Parker replied “The students must give back to the community in the form of at least 40 community hours.  It is not always about the brightest students, even though I encourage academic excellence. I help the student who has a 70%, but tried really hard. I have never had one of my students not follow up on a commitment in the program.”

As for what Parker would like to see happen to the program down the road. “I would like more people to find out about: the scholarship program, the history of where it is coming from, and the legacy of my father. I hope that one day I will not have to do this because the government will start setting aside some money for our children.”