PROVO — Shirley Paxman's sister helped enhance and embrace the family tradition of service.
After a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Africa with her husband, Kay Brockbank Webber decided to help young black women further their education — women who without help didn't have much chance at getting ahead.
Recognizing that most South African women counted education as a luxury they couldn't afford, Webber set up the Brockbank Education Fund in 1999 in memory of their father, Isaac Brockbank..
Each year, the fund pays school fees for up to 30 women through a number of scholarships awarded to women who once they finish school become a "cohort group" that then supports their collective success until and after graduation.
Currently, the education fund is helping women in the Eastern Cape Province pursue degrees in security management, transport economics, debtor/creditor controls, social work, medicine, accounting and electrical engineering.
The fund is managed by a five-member volunteer board out of East London, South Africa.
The board screens applicants, conducts interviews, tracks student progress and repayment.
They also hold annual gatherings to celebrate graduations, award new scholarships and reinforce the sisterhood among recipients. They help one another find jobs and advance in their careers.