The Guyanese Girls Rock Foundation (GGRF) held its annual Scholarship & Awards Fundraising Luncheon on Saturday, July 13, 2024, at Leonard’s Palazzo, located at 555 Northern Blvd., Great Neck, New York.
This highly anticipated event, hosted by Guyanese journalist, Tracey Khan, celebrated the remarkable achievements of high school girls of Guyanese descent and honored exceptional community leaders.
The luncheon featured the graduation of the organization’s Young Women’s Leadership Academy (YWLA) participants, who demonstrated excellence in leadership, academic achievement, and personal development.
“Our annual luncheon is a celebration of excellence, leadership, and empowerment,” said Cloyette Harris-Stoute, founder and president of GGRF. “We were excited to bring together our community to recognize the achievements of our young women and honor those who have made a significant impact. We believe in the power of role models and the importance of supporting the next generation of female leaders.”
Harris-Stoute grew up in Goed Fortuin, on the West Bank of Demerara in Guyana where she lived with her parents. For her, GGRF first started as the Guyanese Girls Rock Blog platform in 2012, which is an online platform created to celebrate the accomplishments of Guyanese women in the diaspora. In 2015, she founded the Guyanese Girls Rock Foundation, Inc (GGRF), but did not officially launch the organization’s programs until early 2018.
Scholarships at the luncheon were awarded to two college-bound seniors, and funds were raised for both the Young Women’s Leadership Academy (YWLA-NY) and the Young Women’s Leadership Fund (YWLF-Guyana), which supports first-year female students at the University of Guyana.
In addition to celebrating young leaders, GGRF honored two outstanding women with the prestigious “Women of Inspiration” Award for their significant contributions to the community.
This year’s honorees included Dr. Rosalind October, recognized for her exceptional contributions to the community and unwavering commitment to Guyanese arts and culture, and four-time Guyanese Olympian Aliann Pompey, for her exceptional contributions to the sports community and dedication to empowering and inspiring young women and girls.
The event was filled with inspiration and community building, featuring a special guest speaker, Rhonda Binda, who addressed the audience. Binda is the New York State Committeewoman for the Gracie Mansion Conservancy.
Attendees also enjoyed a special dance performance by members of Impressions Dance Theatre, Inc.
There was also a crowd-pleasing performance from GGRF’s YWLF 2023 Scholar, Naomi Roberts, a talented steel-pan musician who traveled from Guyana to perform.
Interested persons can find more information about GGRF and its scholarships for young women at https://guyanesegirlsrock.org/scholarship-fund/.
Those interested can find more information about YWLA at https://guyanesegirlsrock.org/young-women-leadership-academy/. They can find more information about YWLF here: https://guyanesegirlsrock.org/ywlf-gy/.
Young women of Guyanese heritage and at least 18 years old who are interested in volunteering with GGRF can find more information here: https://guyanesegirlsrock.org/volunteer-for-us/.
To support the work of GGRF, those who are interested can donate at https://guyanesegirlsrock.org/donation/.
