THE ELENA COOKE EDUCATION FUND IS NOW OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS

 

ELENA COOKE EDUCATON FUND SCHOLARSHIPS

The school building might be gone, but the alumnae of Bukit Bintang Girls’ School will carry on the legacy of their alma mater that is celebrating its120^th anniversary this year.

In memory of their longest-serving headmistress, Miss Elena Maud Cooke who passed away on 2 May 2012, the alumnae have established a scholarship fund to help needy students pursue sixth form and tertiary studies.

Priority will be given to students from orphanages and homes as the late Miss Cooke believed that quality education empowers the marginalised. In fact, she had wanted to become a medical doctor and establish an orphanage. However, Miss Cooke devoted her life in making BBGS a premier girls’ school in Kuala Lumpur.

The Elena Cooke Education Fund (ECEF) is now offering scholarships for selected professional and tertiary programmes at the Sunway Education Group (Sunway University and Sunway College). Sunway University has partnered Lancaster University, a Top 10 UK University to validate its degree programmes.

Recognising Miss Cooke as an educationist par excellence, the Sunway Education Group (SEG), which is owned and governed by the Jeffrey Cheah Education Foundation, has donated RM500,000 worth of scholarships to the Elena Cooke Education Fund.

The ECEF-SEG scholarships will cover tuition as well as living expenses and costs of books. Applicants should have good results and are proficient in English, with parents earning below RM50,000 annually.

Applications should reach us not later than two weeks after the release of the SPM or STPM results, depending on the courses applied for.

Late applications will not be accepted and only shortlisted scholarship applicants will be notified.           

Click here to download the scholarship application form: https://www.box.com/s/wdpmv23wtkpen6qbx7tq

Click here to download list of courses and criteria:
https://www.box.com/s/kz9upy2mr7bwqfla8we8

Please contact BBGS Alumni Berhad. Email: bbgs.ecef@gmail.com HP: 012-292 1460

Note: The families of board members and staff of BBGS Alumni Berhad are not eligible to apply for the Elena Cooke Education Fund scholarships.

ntv7 Interview - Elena Cooke Education Fund

This is a recording of the interview taken via handphone. We will post the actual one when we get a copy of the recording from ntv7

Please note that the email address is bbgs.ecef@gmail.com and not as shown by ntv7

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=558630357493924&set=vb.100000408940231&type=2&theater

ntv7 INTERVIEW

Tune into ntv7 The Breakfast Show before 8am on 20 Feb 2013 (Wed). There will be a 10-minute interview with two directors of BBGS Alumni Berhad--Miss Yoke-Lai Moey and Datin Azimah Rahim--who will be sharing about our BBGS legacy and the Elena Cooke Education Fund.

www.facebook.com/BBGS.ElenaCooke

Well done, Miss Moey Yoke Lai and Datin Azimah in representing BBGS on TV. BBGS is alive! There are several comments coming in from BBGSians all over the world to show that they are excited to see their alma mater being revived. The Elena Cooke Education Fund is one way BBGSians can give back to society having benefitted from the excellent education we received in BBGS.

Nisi Dominus Frustra!

Kindness Begets Kindness

Here is a real story (posted on BBGS OGA Facebook) about how a BBGSian was touched by Miss Cooke's generosity...

https://www.facebook.com/#!/bbgsoga/posts/485298538160440?notif_t=like

One day, after school, Miss Elena M Cooke walked past a classroom and noticed a lone BBGSian sitting at her desk, looking dejected.

Miss Cooke stopped by and asked: "Dear, why are you looking so sad?"

The student explained that she had applied for a Government scholarship but she was only awarded a partial subsidy. She wanted so much to do well in her Form Five exam in order to qualify for Form Six. Miss Cooke encouraged her not to give up hope.

Next morning, the student was "summoned" to Miss Cooke's office. Smiling, Miss Cooke handed her an envelope and asked her to open it. In it were a cash cheque for RM300 and a letter stating that the student DID NOT NEED TO RETURN THE MONEY but, when successful, she should "HELP OTHERS IN NEED".

Fourteen years later, this same student returned to her alma mater and asked the then headmistress Miss Yeap if there were BBGSians who needed financial help. She donated RM1,000 to three sisters who were orphans.

Till today, this student has never forgotten Miss Cooke's kindness. She is always looking for ways to return her headmistress' kindness. No wonder, she immediately donated RM5,000 when she heard about the Elena Cooke Education Fund!

THE SUNWAY EDUCATION GROUP-ELENA COOKE EDUCATION FUND SIGNING CEREMONY

BBGS Alumni Berhad Chairman Miss Moey Yoke Lai (left) and Sunway Education Group Senior 
Executive Director Ms Elizabeth Lee (right) holding the Memorandum of Cooperation. 
Witnessing the occasion were Sunway University Vice-Chancellor Prof Graeme Wilkinson (fifth from left) 
and BBGS alumnae and Sunway staff.

As soon as news of Miss Cooke’s demise on 2 May 2012 was announced, the BBGS Old Girls’ Association received an sms message from an alumna: “On behalf of the Sunway Ed Group I wish to give a scholarship up to RM100K thru the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation via BBGSOGA to Elena Cooke Ed Fund in honour of her life as a true educator. Elizabeth Lee Fuh Yen, proud BBGSian Class of 76”.


Less than 30mins later, another sms came in: “On hindsight, since this is for education & for our dearest Ms Cooke, I’d like to now pledge up to RM500K. Details to be worked out.”

After months of preparation by representatives of the Sunway Education Group (SEG) and BBGS Alumni Berhad (BAB), the official signing ceremony was held at 10am on 20 December 2012 at the Graduate Centre at the Sunway University.

Under the Memorandum of Cooperation, the Sunway Education Group, which is owned and governed by the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, will sponsor tuition fees worth RM500,000 (or equivalent to 10 scholarships) while BAB will be responsible for cash grants of RM10,600 per academic year for each successful applicant to cover accommodation costs, book purchases and living expenses. Besides identifying the potential candidates, BAB shall provide some form of mentoring programme as a means to guide the successful candidate to cope or adapt to the study programme.

SEG Senior Executive Director Ms Elizabeth Lee explained: "These scholarships would also provide an opportunity for other BBGS alumnae to play a role, besides giving money, in mentoring scholarship holders from underprivileged families." 

“I also hope that more BBGSians in positions of influence in other corporations will join us in giving a helping hand to the Elena Cooke Education Fund. When I received an email announcement of Miss Cooke’s passing, it suddenly struck me that I am placed in my present position for a purpose. If I can help my alma mater, why don’t I do my part in repaying what BBGS has done for me?”

BBGSians will have plenty of opportunities to use their positions of influence in the corporate sector to help build the Elena Cooke Education Fund in the “1,200 Shining Stars” fundraising campaign that was announced by BAB Chairman Miss Moey Yoke Lai during the signing ceremony.

In conjunction with BBGS 120^th anniversary celebrations in 2013, we are now launching the ‘1,200 Shining Stars’ fundraising campaign which involves the lighting up of 1,200 stars on the BBGS.ElenaCooke Facebook page to raise RM1.2 million for the ECE Fund.

For every donation of RM1,000, one star will be lit up on our Facebook page. Donations of RM1,000 each can be made individually or collectively. Donors can light up more than one star at a time. We hope to get 1,200 stars shining to reach our target of RM1.2 million.

Former BBGS students, teachers, staff, friends, well wishers and corporations are welcome to contribute to the Elena Cooke Education Fund.

Please LIKE our ‘1,200 Shining Stars’ FB page: www.facebook.com/BBGS.ElenaCooke

To download Donation Form: 

https://www.box.com/s/yi4cr6oc3yew8enrmsc1

To download Elena Cooke Education Fund ebrochure: https://www.box.com/s/jzm9drqorks2hdpe3b1v

BBGSians Will Carry On Miss Cooke's Legacy of Kindness to Needy Students...

In honour of our former BBGS headmistress, the late Miss Elena M. Cooke, the BBGS OGA would like to continue the good work of Miss Cooke whose heart was always for needy students wishing to further their education.

In fact, Miss Cooke's original ambition was to become a medical doctor and to establish an orphanage where the marginalised can enjoy first-class education.

However, she had to give up this dream when she realised that God was calling her to devote her life to making BBGS a school par excellence.

Today, BBGS OGA wants to fulfil Miss Cooke's unfulfilled dream by extending scholarships to needy students to pursue Sixth Form. The BBGS OGA has set up a company limited by guarantee, BBGS Alumni Berhad, to specially handle the Elena Cooke Education Fund.

Kindly help us distribute the attached Scholarship Application Form to needy students, especially those from charity homes or orphanages.

Nisi Dominus Frustra.



Click here to download the Scholarship Application Form
https://www.box.com/s/9gd5yjuml91iftxjlxdj

PS: Please note that this Scholarship Application is strictly for Sixth Form (STPM) studies. All the particulars submitted by applicants must be true and accurate. The scholarship awards rest upon the discretion of BBGS Alumni Berhad whose decision is final.



Click here to download the Preamble
https://www.box.com/s/jmfzrfg8y3fgi2q61dso


For more information, kindly email the Selection Team at bbgs.ecef@gmail.com

......................................................................................

Kindness Begets Kindness...

Here is a real story (posted on BBGS OGA Facebook) about how a BBGSian was touched by Miss Cooke's generosity...

https://www.facebook.com/#!/bbgsoga/posts/485298538160440?notif_t=like

One day, after school, Miss Elena M Cooke walked past a classroom and noticed a lone BBGSian sitting at her desk, looking dejected.

Miss Cooke stopped by and asked: "Dear, why are you looking so sad?"

The student explained that she had applied for a Government scholarship but she was only awarded a partial subsidy. She wanted so much to do well in her Form Five exam in order to qualify for Form Six. Miss Cooke encouraged her not to give up hope.

Next morning, the student was "summoned" to Miss Cooke's office. Smiling, Miss Cooke handed her an envelope and asked her to open it. In it were a cash cheque for RM300 and a letter stating that the student DID NOT NEED TO RETURN THE MONEY but, when successful, she should "HELP OTHERS IN NEED".

Fourteen years later, this same student returned to her alma mater and asked the then headmistress Miss Yeap if there were BBGSians who needed financial help. She donated RM1,000 to three sisters who were orphans.

Till today, this student has never forgotten Miss Cooke's kindness. She is always looking for ways to return her headmistress' kindness. No wonder, she immediately donated RM5,000 when she heard about the Elena Cooke Education Fund!

Elena Cooke Education Fund - Preamble

After the closure of the Bukit Bintang Girls’ School (BBGS) in 2000, BBGS Alumni Berhad was incorporated (on 16^th July 2010) to run the Elena Cooke Education Fund. The Elena Cooke Education Fund honours the dream of Miss Elena M Cooke, headmistress of BBGS from 1958 to 1977, which was to provide underprivileged children, especially orphans, with an opportunity to obtain a good education beyond Form 5. 

The Bukit Bintang Girls’ School, fondly known as BBGS, was a pioneer in women’s education that began in 1893 with a tradition steeped in excellence, discipline and godliness. It was founded by God-fearing pioneers who travelled all the way from the United Kingdom in order to provide education to girls from poor families living around Bukit Bintang Road in Kuala Lumpur. Through the years, BBGS promoted values of integrity, honesty, discipline, determination, devotion to duty and God, and a caring heart to ensure that its students became responsible members of society who would in turn uphold the values that were the foundation of the school.

As a result of the love, dedication and sense of purpose of its principals and teachers, BBGS over the years turned out many successful women in various fields who are determined to ensure that the values they learned in school are reflected in their daily lives. So it was in the spirit of the ideals propagated by the school that the BBGS Old Girls’ Association proposed the establishment of the Elena Cooke Education Fund, in the hope of promoting to others the good old-fashioned values that they learned in school, while at the same time allowing deserving underprivileged children an opportunity to continue their studies.

Purpose of the Fund

The Elena Cooke Education Fund aims to help underprivileged children, especially orphans, obtain a good education beyond Form 5 – be it Form 6, A-levels, local college or university. Therefore, it aims to provide funding for higher education in the form of:

• Full scholarships
• Partial scholarships

What does the Scholarship Cover?

According to the Selection Committee’s discretion, the funding can be in the form of full or partial scholarships.  Expenses for books, accommodation and other living costs will also be considered if necessary.

Who is Eligible for the Fund?

Application is open to all deserving Malaysians under the age of 25 hoping to continue their higher education.  Orphanages or homes for underprivileged children can recommend their deserving students for the scholarships.  Students who come from families with one or both parents, but who have been prevented from pursuing higher education by poverty or lack of opportunity, can also apply.  Eligibility criteria include a good track record and academic results.  Selection will be based on a combination of factors such as recommendation from homes/orphanages, trial results and interviews.

How is the Elena Cooke Education Fund Run?

The BBGS Old Girls’ Association proposed the setting up of BBGS Alumni Berhad as a company limited by guarantee to oversee and manage the Elena Cooke Education Fund.  BBGS Alumni Berhad is run by a Board of Directors, all selected on the basis of their integrity, good repute and standing in society.  A separate Selection Committee will go through all the scholarship applications and select and interview the deserving students before recommending to the Board of Directors their selections.

Scholarship and Bursary Policy

The primary objectives of the Elena Cooke Education Fund are to promote and enhance educational opportunities by providing assistance to needy Malaysian students who meet the criteria established above.  In accordance with this objective, the BBGS Alumni Berhad will serve to:

• carry out activities, together with the Old Girls’ Association, to raise money for the Elena Cooke Education Fund.
• solicit funds for and manage the Elena Cooke Education Fund in accordance with its M&A
• maintain proper books/accounts of funds raised in the name of the Elena Cooke Education Fund, and ensure disbursement of the funds in accordance with established guidelines.

Applying for the Scholarship

All interested Malaysians who satisfy the criteria are invited to apply.  Successful selection will depend upon receipt of all the necessary documents.