‘I like to see the smiles’
Wilson said she loves the fun festival elements like food and music, but her favorite part is its scholarship program. Each year, the committee gives scholarships to Caribbean and Caribbean American university students. The scholarships are funded by festival proceeds and outside organizations.
“I like to see the smiles on the faces of those who receive the scholarship,” Wilson said. “This year, we have 30 people applying for scholarships. We were able, through other organizations, to donate scholarships. We are giving 15 of them out of the 30.”
Students are awarded scholarships for education and living expenses at the 40th annual Philadelphia Caribbean Festival. The scholarships were funded by festival proceeds and outside organizations. (Courtesy of Barbara Wilson)
The scholarships, Wilson said, are not limited to certain costs, and each student has the freedom to decide whether to use it for education or living costs.
“It’s at least just to help them with either their apartment or if they have books to buy and things like that,” Wilson said. “We make it undetected scholarships. We don’t send it to say, ‘Well, you have to put it against their tuition.’”
At the festival, Caribbean nonprofits were located between vendors and spoke to attendees about their causes. One of these nonprofits was Ignite Jamaica Fund, a Philadelphia-based organization that promotes academic growth in Jamaica and for youth across the Jamaican diaspora.
Kimisha Simpson, founder and CEO of the fund, said she was at the festival to raise funds for their students.
“We do work in Jamaica [and] overseas for primary and secondary students, also tertiary students, basically enhancing educational needs,” Simpson said. “Sometimes that looks like school supplies. Sometimes that looks like technology resources, paying tuition fees, the cost of lunch, or other times that may look like virtual programming for workforce development.”
Festival proceeds are also donated to nonprofits and charities for causes like hurricane aid and bereavement support. The hard work that goes into the festival, Wilson said, is one reason why it’s thrived for so many years.
“It’s not just getting up one day and saying, ‘Okay, two months from now we’re having a festival,’ and we just rush to do things. We really organize it, and I think that’s what makes it last this long and very successful,” Wilson said.