Scholarship and Awards Ceremony
Join us on Thursday, July 3, 2025, at the NewRoads Performing Arts Centre (500 Pickering Crescent, Newmarket) from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM as we celebrate Black student excellence, volunteerism and community impact in our region.
This year’s Scholarship & Awards Ceremony will honour remarkable young achievers who are shaping the future through academic success and community leadership. Our keynote speaker is Clayton La Touche, Director of Education for the Toronto District School Board, who will share his powerful vision for education and innovation. Come be inspired. Come support. Come celebrate. Register today to attend and show your support for our future leaders. Click HERE to register. |
Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association
2025 Scholarship Application
The NACCA Scholarship is awarded to students who are entering their first year of full time post-secondary studies, this also includes apprenticeship or trade programs. These students demonstrate academic excellence and a commitment to community service in order to break down barriers and build inclusive spaces.
In 2025, NACCA will award scholarships to up to 11 students, providing them with financial support as they pursue their educational goals. Applicants must apply by March 31, 2025 to be considered; winners to be announced early June.
Scholarship Categories & Awards:
Committee Composition
The Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association and its members, volunteers and executive council, understand the importance of impartiality and the consideration of any potential conflicts of interest in carrying out its scholarship selection process. The selection of recipients for the NACCA Scholarship is conducted in an impartial manner through an independent selection committee. Candidate selection is based on evidence obtained from the applicants and is not influenced by other interests or other parties.
Terms and Conditions
To be eligible for consideration for the NACCA scholarships, students must:
The NACCA application asks that students include the following:
Submission Details:
How to Apply
Please carefully review and complete this scholarship application form in full. All responses are bound by NACCA’s privacy and confidentiality policy and all responses will remain private. Should you have any questions, please contact the selection committee via email at [email protected].
Timelines: All scholarship applications are due by March 31, 2025. Scholarship winners are announced early June, 2025.
How, when and where award is advertised
In 2025, NACCA will award scholarships to up to 11 students, providing them with financial support as they pursue their educational goals. Applicants must apply by March 31, 2025 to be considered; winners to be announced early June.
Scholarship Categories & Awards:
- NACCA General Scholarship – $1,500 each
a) Awarded to selected students who meet the criteria of academic achievement and community involvement.
b) If five students are selected, four will receive $1,500 each, and one outstanding student will receive the Iris Malcolm Memorial Award instead (not both). - Iris Malcolm Memorial Award – $2,500
a) Given to one student who has demonstrated resilience by overcoming significant setbacks while excelling academically and in community service. - Southlake Regional Health Centre Scholarship – $2,500 each (New for 2025).
a) Awarded to four students who are entering health-related fields such as medicine, nursing, public health, or other healthcare disciplines. - Rightsline Computer Science Scholarship – $5,000 per year (for four years) + Internship (New for 2025).
a) Awarded to a student pursuing computer science, technology, or a related field.
b) This four year renewable scholarship includes an internship component, providing both financial support and hands-on industry experience.
c) Students applying for this scholarship must write an essay (see terms and conditions below) - Wasim Jarrah Business Excellence Award – $750 each
a) Awarded to two graduating students who have demonstrated excellence in business and entrepreneurship studies.
b) Open to NACCA Scholarship recipients who are graduating from a York Region secondary school and pursuing business.
c) Student entering business has the opportunity to earn $2,250 in total scholarships ($1,500 NACCA Scholarship + $750 Wasim Jarrah Award).
Committee Composition
The Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association and its members, volunteers and executive council, understand the importance of impartiality and the consideration of any potential conflicts of interest in carrying out its scholarship selection process. The selection of recipients for the NACCA Scholarship is conducted in an impartial manner through an independent selection committee. Candidate selection is based on evidence obtained from the applicants and is not influenced by other interests or other parties.
Terms and Conditions
To be eligible for consideration for the NACCA scholarships, students must:
- Self-identify as a person of African descent /Black / African Canadian / Afro-Caribbean or any other term denoting an African (racialized Black) ancestry.
- Be a York Region resident and have/will be graduating from a York Region secondary school within the last two-years.
- Be applying to a post-secondary institution in 2025.
- Show proof of acceptance and enrolment in a post-secondary institution (college, university, apprenticeship or trade program) as a full-time student beginning in September 2025.
- Must be pursuing post-secondary studies for the first-time in a bachelor's degree, diploma or certificate program.
- Demonstrate academic excellence (minimum average of 80% in 6 Ontario grade 12 credits).
- Must demonstrate involvement in extracurricular activities at high school or involvement in community or volunteer work.
- Must attend the Scholarship & Awards ceremony on Thurs., July 3, 2025.
- Must participate in 1-2 NACCA activities in the first year of post-secondary education. Newsletters/communications will be sent to inform scholarship recipients of volunteer opportunities.
- Consent to the publication of their name and image by NACCA, if selected as a scholarship recipient.
- If you are applying for the Rightsline Computer Science Scholarship, submit an essay of no more than 500 words addressing the following question: What ethical considerations do you believe will be most important in shaping the digital future and how would you address them?
- Rightsline Scholarship applicants may only apply for one scholarship and must meet all the criteria listed above. All required attachments must be included as specified in the application form below.
The NACCA application asks that students include the following:
- A personal statement outlining the reasons you should be considered for a NACCA Scholarship. The essay must reflect your capacity for original thought and your leadership/community activities: you will indicate the leadership/community activities/positions that you have been involved in during your final two years in secondary school (max 500 words).
- Grade 11 Transcript & Grade 12, Semester 1 and Semester 2 transcripts.
- Two (2) letters of reference:
- Academic reference letter that confirms your scholastic/academic abilities. This reference may also speak to your leadership within your school.
- Community reference letter should address your leadership/community endeavours. It should not verify academic achievement.
Submission Details:
- Applicants must personally submit their application including their full address with postal code and contact number.
- Only PDF’s of original transcripts/documents will be accepted.
- All required documentation (application form, signed waiver, transcript, report cards, personal statement, letters of reference) must be submitted together in one email with documents in PDF format.
- All email communications to NACCA must have your name (first, last name) and the topic in the subject line.
- Applicants must send their full application to: [email protected].
How to Apply
Please carefully review and complete this scholarship application form in full. All responses are bound by NACCA’s privacy and confidentiality policy and all responses will remain private. Should you have any questions, please contact the selection committee via email at [email protected].
Timelines: All scholarship applications are due by March 31, 2025. Scholarship winners are announced early June, 2025.
How, when and where award is advertised
- NACCA Newsletter, social media outlets and website - Mid February - March 31, 2025
- York Region District School Board and York Region Catholic District School Board guidance departments
- Black-serving organizations in York Region
Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity. (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
*The Iris Malcolm Memorial Award
The Ten Dollar Story
When Iris Malcolm passed away at Southlake Regional Health Centre in September 2015, she left behind seven adult children scattered across the diaspora and Ten Dollars in her purse. Iris never graduated high school and, like many of her generation, she had limited opportunities to pursue higher education. She dedicated her life to volunteering in the church and working tirelessly to take care of her children. Quiet, humble and peaceful, she possessed many gifts and talents, yet was restricted by a lack of access to opportunities that would have allowed her to flourish.
At first, the Ten Dollars in her purse seemed like a symbol of shame to her youngest daughter who was left to arrange her final rites. It felt like there was no inheritance, no legacy, no grand story. But as the daughter reflected, she came to realize that there was, in fact, a compelling narrative woven through her mother's life, a narrative that would become the driving force behind NACCA and the Scholarship Program. The connection between the past and the present lies in the story of Iris’ great-great grandmother, who, like so many of our ancestors likely worked on a plantation in Jamaica, cut-off from access to education and opportunity.
The true significance of Iris’s life—and this award—is in the way it rewrites that story. Despite significant barriers, Iris was able to carve out a different path, one that defied the limitations imposed by history. The ten dollars in her purse became the seed to invest in NACCA, to change the narrative of lack, and to dismantle the systems of Black exploitation and oppression. It was a way to create new opportunities and stories of access for people of African descent, no matter where they come from.
By recovering and honouring the stories of our ancestors, we are rebuilding a future based on dignity and possibility. This award represents both the memory of our shared past and the hope for a more equitable future.
The Ten Dollar Story
When Iris Malcolm passed away at Southlake Regional Health Centre in September 2015, she left behind seven adult children scattered across the diaspora and Ten Dollars in her purse. Iris never graduated high school and, like many of her generation, she had limited opportunities to pursue higher education. She dedicated her life to volunteering in the church and working tirelessly to take care of her children. Quiet, humble and peaceful, she possessed many gifts and talents, yet was restricted by a lack of access to opportunities that would have allowed her to flourish.
At first, the Ten Dollars in her purse seemed like a symbol of shame to her youngest daughter who was left to arrange her final rites. It felt like there was no inheritance, no legacy, no grand story. But as the daughter reflected, she came to realize that there was, in fact, a compelling narrative woven through her mother's life, a narrative that would become the driving force behind NACCA and the Scholarship Program. The connection between the past and the present lies in the story of Iris’ great-great grandmother, who, like so many of our ancestors likely worked on a plantation in Jamaica, cut-off from access to education and opportunity.
The true significance of Iris’s life—and this award—is in the way it rewrites that story. Despite significant barriers, Iris was able to carve out a different path, one that defied the limitations imposed by history. The ten dollars in her purse became the seed to invest in NACCA, to change the narrative of lack, and to dismantle the systems of Black exploitation and oppression. It was a way to create new opportunities and stories of access for people of African descent, no matter where they come from.
By recovering and honouring the stories of our ancestors, we are rebuilding a future based on dignity and possibility. This award represents both the memory of our shared past and the hope for a more equitable future.
From left to right: Wasim Jarrah (donor), Beverly Brookes (board member), Merveille Uwase (recipient), Donovan Watson (board member), and Jerisha Grant-Hall (board member) at NACCA's 2024 Scholarship and Awards Ceremony.
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From left to right: Martha Jez (donor), Beverly Brookes (board member), Amira Zamanifar (recipient), Donovan Watson (board member), and Jerisha Grant-Hall (board member) at NACCA's 2024 Scholarship and Awards Ceremony.
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