The “Winston ‘Daddy’ Richards Memorial Foundation Scholarship” was founded by the family of the late Mr. Winston Churchill Arthur Richards, formerly of Kingstown Park (KP), for the benefit of children in his community.  On the passing of Daddy as we all call him, we reminisced on the quiet life he led in the KP community but could not minimize the encouragement that community fathers like Messrs Williams and Douglas, amongst others, gave to Daddy, pushing him to persevere amidst hardships. This positively impacted a new generation of nation builders. A decision was then taken to set up a memorial scholarship fund to encourage someone – anyone – to persevere amidst hardships likewise.  Beginning in October 2021, a scholarship for one successful CPEA candidate valuing $1,350.00, plus 4 book vouchers valued at $100.00 each will be awarded annually to qualifying CPEA students over a 5-year period, along with other assistance, funds permitting.  Family, friends and well-wishers are welcome to post contributions to GECCU Account #1002547 at their convenience.

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Daddy attended the St. Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School and was an outstanding student. He recounted that his friend and class rival could never wrestle first place from him. At the time of writing the Eleven Plus Examinations to transit to Secondary School, Daddy had to stay at home to do chores (which was not uncommon in his day) and thus lost his opportunity for a secondary education. His friend wrote the exam and went on to become a lawyer.  Daddy became a visionary, an excellent mason, auxiliary police, Male Attendant, trade union Shop Steward, jack of all trades, and a Christian believer with a “Masters” in Parenting.

One of his notable characteristics was the insistence that social limitations must not deter ambitions. He was a man of humble means and definitely a forerunner of what we now know as the Education Revolution.  Through stark difficulties, he championed the need for a formal education and the learning of a life skill. He always would say, "I do not want you all to knock about and be insulted like I was, in order to get a job". This was reflected in the determination to steer his children through secondary school in the toughest of times, with a starting salary of $135.00 per month in 1971 and many revolving loans thereafter from GECCU, throughout the ensuing years.  He further ensured that the young people under his influence joined a credit union.  For some, he kept custody of their passbooks - and managed their accounts as well - until his passing. 

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In January 2021, the Government Employees Cooperative Credit Union (GECCU) and Ministry of Education were consulted re the idea of a memorial scholarship.  The scholarship fund was subsequently incorporated as a non-profit entity on June 18th, 2021, followed by the establishment of a deposit account at GECCU. A special note of thanks to all who have already contributed to this year’s scholarship.  Your contributions will assist at least one child whose present socio-economic situation may require specific attention, which means that the recipient may not necessarily be the student with the most outstanding results.  Application forms will be available at Mr. Wendy Bowman's Shop in Kingstown Park and the completed applications will be processed by trusted stalwarts representing the KP community.