Jamieson Family launches scholarship fund
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 2, 2017 (St. John’s NL) – Descendants of three Jamieson brothers, who individually made significant contributions to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in the fields of broadcasting and public service, announced the creation of a fund to support an annual scholarship this morning at Fred’s Records.
Once established, The Jamieson Family Memorial Scholarship will award $1,500 to a high school student who has been accepted into an accredited Canadian university in an undergraduate program in communications, journalism, or political science.
The initial goal is to raise $42,000 over a five-year period to support the scholarship in perpetuity.
The Fund will be managed through a partnership established with the Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (CFNL), who, in conjunction with the Jamieson Family, will guide the application and selection process. As a registered charity, the CFNL will issue charitable donation receipts for income tax purposes.
“Establishing this partnership with the Community Foundation was crucial to the launch of this fund, as it ensures transparency and best practices,” says Joshua Jamieson, grandson of the Honourable Don Jamieson, who has taken the lead in establishing this initiative on behalf of the family.
“We applaud this initiative by the Jamieson family that will ensure that students who are interested in careers in politics, communications, and journalism have access to higher education,” says Ainsley Hawthorn, Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. “One of our goals as an organization is to help individuals and families start charitable funds like these that respond to real needs in our communities, and we’re excited to be partnering with Joshua and the Jamieson family on this initiative.”
Don Jamieson died suddenly in November 1986, after an outstanding career in both broadcasting and provincial, national and international politics. His younger brothers, Colin and Bas, who died in December 2013 and January 2014 respectively, also made significant contributions to the province’s political and broadcasting sectors. Descendants of Charles Jamieson and Isabella Bennett, the brothers were predeceased by another brother and two sisters.
“Uncle Bas’ death in 2014 marked the end of a generation and the surviving family felt strongly that it was time to establish a legacy fund to honour them collectively,” Joshua explains. Joshua, who was a toddler when his grandfather died, has been a driving force in documenting his grandfather’s career and in 2012 released the documentary Just Himself: The Story of Don Jamieson.
Through the response to his film, Joshua realized there was renewed interest in a two-record vinyl collection of Christmas stories that his grandfather released in 1979: Don Jamieson Remembers: An Old-Fashioned St. John’s Christmas. “Due to that interest, I undertook digitizing the record and today we are excited to share it is immediately available in a double CD format here at Fred’s with other retailers to be added, as well as through digital partners like iTunes, Google Play, AmazonMP3, and others.”
Joshua has also worked with his publishing colleagues at Breakwater Books to arrange the rerelease of Don Jamieson’s memoirs: No Place for Fools and A World Unto Itself in trade paperback for the first time. Both books and the Christmas CD are available through the scholarship’s website shop individually for $20 each or as a bundle for $50 at www.jamiesonfamilyscholarship.ca.
Debby Jamieson Winters, Don Jamieson’s youngest child, will also be establishing an online market to sell handcrafted greeting cards, note card sets and invitations. All proceeds from the rereleased CD, books, and Debby’s handcraft items will be directed to the Jamieson Family Memorial Scholarship.
The family will continue to forge partnerships with other organizations and within the corporate and service sectors to reach the objectives of the fund.
“We can think of no better way to honour the commitment Don, Colin and Bas had for helping and empowering others than supporting and encouraging a new generation of young people in the pursuit of careers in politics or journalism,” Joshua adds. “And I will give the final words to my Uncle Bas, as he would say: Do something nice for someone today, you’ll feel better for it.”
Media Contact:
Joshua Jamieson
jjmoxy@gmail.com
The Jamieson Family Memorial Scholarship 