Apply for the Sydney Carter Scholarship Offered by Manchester Co-operative Credit Union

Apply for the annual Sydney Carter Scholarship for members or children of members of the Manchester Co-operative Credit Union (1977) Limited

on May 15, 2025

How to Qualify for the Sydney Carter Scholarship

The scholarship is made available once a recipient has completed his/her tenure. Applications are received between the months of April and June. The following conditions apply:

The scholarship is tenable at the University of Technology, the University of the West Indies or Northern Caribbean University.
Candidates should be members or children of members of the Manchester Co-operative Credit Union (1977) Limited.
Candidates should be attending one of the above-mentioned institutions, pursuing any discipline.
Application letters must be accompanied by the completed application form and relevant progress reports.
Scholarship will be for three years inclusive of the final year.
TENABLE AT ALL LOCAL TERTIARY LEVEL INSTITUTIONS
CLOSING DATE FOR ALL APPLICATIONS: JUNE 30, 2025

Download Sydney Carter Scholarship Application Form

Background to the Sydney Carter Scholarship

The Sydney Carter Scholarship was named after the late Sydney Rowel Carter who was born in Duncans, Trelawny. The third of seven children, he received his initial education in St. Ann. He then attended Mico College, Reading University in London and Nova Scotia University in Canada. Mr. Carter taught in St. Catherine, St. Andrew and Manchester.

In Manchester he was Vice Principal at Holmwood Technical High School.Mr. Carter was a businessman, a sportsman, community leader, Justice of the Peace, Rotarian, Free Mason and co-founder of the Middlesex Co-operative Credit Union Limited. He played an instrumental role in a series of amalgamations that led to the organization of the Manchester Co-operative Credit Union (1977) Ltd. where he also served as a manager.

Having realized the significant contributions that Mr. Sydney Carter has made to the Credit Union and the nation as a whole; the organization decided to offer a scholarship in his honour. The purpose of the scholarship is to perpetuate the memory of a great man and to help in the education of our nation.

About the Scholarship Donor

The Manchester Co-operative Credit Union (1977) Limited is committed to maintaining a safe, visible and efficient financial institution; by providing innovative and competitive products and services in a warm and friendly environment to enhance the economic and social well-being of our members.

The Manchester Co-operative Credit Union (1977) Limited had its genesis in 1947 as a study group under the leadership of the late principal of the then Holmwood Practical Training Centre (now Holmwood Technical High School), Mr. F. R. Ricketts and his assistant the late Mr. Sydney Carter. The study group moved from house to house, sharing the vision and philosophy of the Credit Union and the prospects for the future.

The response was positive and so the movement grew at a very rapid pace, with the first members coming mainly from the staff of Holmwood and members of the immediate community. Also prominent in the study group, was the late Fr. John P. Sullivan, himself a pioneer of the Credit Union Movement in Jamaica.

The group was named the Middlesex Co-operative Credit Union and was registered under the Provident Society Act in 1948. This was before the advent of the Registrar of Co-operative Societies Act, which came about in 1950 and eventually took over Middlesex in 1951. During the developments, there was no paid staff and all the work was done by volunteers. The office was established upstairs the Emergency Drug Store owned then by the late Elsie Bailey, but later moved to share office space with the Christiana Peoples Co-operative Bank (the first such bank in Jamaica).