Barry Malcolm, President of the Grand Bahama Chamber presents the Philanthropist of the Year Award to Grand Bahama permanent resident Karen Clarke
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Freeport, Bahamas - On September 22, 2014, at the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce named Karen N. Clarke their Philanthropist of Year during their Excellence Awards held at the Regency Theatre. Ms. Clarke was presented
the award by Barry Malcom, President of the Grand Bahama
Chamber of Commerce.
Ms. Clarke is an active member at Rotary of Lucaya where this year she is Treasurer and the International Service Director. Just some of the initiatives she's been directly involved with are:
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Sole benefactor of the Beacon School for Special Needs Children's restoration
and the construction of a special needs playground named after the
late
Steven M Dillet. The Beacon is the only school on the island busing children in from the farthest parts of the island daily.
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Donating funds to build 1/3 of the Grand Bahama Cancer Association Hospice (the only hospice of its kind in The Bahamas).
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Donating 2 vehicles: Cancer Association of Grand Bahama and The Grand Bahama Youth Choir
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Grand Bahama Children’s Home: Donated a solar system for water heater, as well as many items required at the home
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Scholarships for talented young Bahamians to go to an Arts Camp in the USA in the summers
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College scholarships for well deserving Grand Bahama students
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Donating funds for 2 Grand Bahama Youth Choir members to tour with "Up with People"
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Financial support to the Freeport Players Guild.
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Provided major financial support to the Grand Bahama Performing Arts Society
Ms. Clarke is a permanent resident of Grand Bahama
and moved to The Bahamas in 2006. She has also became the first major donor to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City to build a wing for Pediatric Growth Disorders and Research.
She also received the Arch
Klumph Society Award at the Rotary Assembly of District 6990 in November,
2014. Ms. Clarke is the first Arch Klumph Society member from District 6990 which
includes Grand Bahama Island and Southern Florida (from the Florida Keys to Palm
Beach). There are over 1.2 million Rotarians in the world and only 600 Arch
Klumph Society members. She will be attending the Arch Klumph Society
meeting in Evanston, Illinois in the spring of 2015 for formal induction and
to meet Society members and the President of Rotary International.
Karen N. Clarke is the owner of Thayers Natural Remedies, the second oldest manufacturing company in the US. Prior to buying Thayers, Ms. Clarke was an international business consultant working in 140 countries in various industries throughout the world.