 She is still young. The vision of a young effervescent woman to see student athletes excel in and out of competition to dream their biggest dreams and to believe that it is possible is the reason why this foundation was established. Having experienced the reality of growing up far from the lap of luxury and the premises of privilege, Shelley and Fraser Price decided to take a chance on partnering with student athletes to see their best potential actualized. The remarks of Dr. Jermaine McAlpin is there, the executive director of the Pocket Rocket Foundation. Speaking out the recently held scholarship awards recognizing the 11 recipients of this year's PRF scholarships across various sporting disciplines. Well, speaking further now about the great Shelley and Fraser Price's Pocket Rocket Foundation which celebrates a decade of operation impacting student athletes from various schools within Jamaica. We would have just heard from Dr. McAlpin and it's our pleasure now to welcome him on the show as he joins us live on set. Good afternoon. Good afternoon, thank you for having me. Yes, so good. Good afternoon. Yeah, it's a pleasure to have you on the set. The last time we spoke about Shelley and Fraser we were talking about the scholarships that Lance brought it up because it's so beautiful to have athletes but Shelley doesn't have to do this. But she has chosen this path. One, I'll ask you about how was the scholarship recipients awards and you know, how was that ceremony for you? You know, every year we have it, it leads to this idea of the promise of the future, the possibilities of the future. We awarded 11 recipients this year. This is the highest number we've ever awarded. We've awarded 73 scholarships in the 10 years of existence. They've come from 24 schools and 13 different disciplines. So it's not just track and field. Yes. And that's important because the goal of the foundation is to help student athletes realize their best potential. A decade of operation. Yes. That's a long time. It is. What keeps the foundation going? The persona and the dynamism of the chairwoman, she's a dynamo, right? She's no longer just a pocket rocket. She's a big rocket. I think also the commitment to students, the importance of partnering with student athletes to let them know that these things are possible. You know, one of the fundamental ethos of the foundation is to have students dream and to help those dreams become reality. Yeah, Doc, you know what? I have a question here because I'm constantly bothered by the climate of the society. This week, one day, I think it was Tuesday, it was World Mental Health Day. And I look at students now and what they go through and the pressure of social media and their involvement in social media and the pressures of getting through the academics, which is what they're in school for. And I think to myself that when I was in school, I didn't have that kind of stress or I didn't bring it on myself, you know, in a different way from what I see existing now. And that is what I wanna ask you about because the Pocket Rocket Foundation digs deep into the assistance of some of our young, promising students. And it is something that we should consider as a very valuable tool to help the youngsters who are going through a difficult period in their lives. You know, one of the fundamental challenges within our society that the Pocket Rocket Foundation hopes to in our small way and eventually redone to a bigger contribution is the importance of holistic health, right? Not just the physical, corporeal body in terms of student athletes being at their prime, but also understanding the importance of tuning that with mental health, mental wellness. We have in the pipeline seminars that will be geared towards addressing the whole athlete rather than just simply the dimension that deals with athletics. They are first student, so we have to focus on the academic requirements of being a student. And so we have requirements in terms of maintaining the scholarship, but we are also concerned with their mental well-being, their physical well-being. Part of the scholarship is to provide resources so that they can eat. One of the core values of the foundation is meeting the basic needs of everyone who is a scholarship recipient. And in that regard, even at the early child institution named after our founder, there is a Rocket Start breakfast program, right? So we are aiming to focus not just simply on the athletic prowess of the students, but also their mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Having said that, could you give us an idea of the criteria for the scholarship? That is used to select some of these. Certainly. Because I think the base of it is need, you know, some that are most needy of the health. Well, it's part meritocratic. Right, it's part meritocratic because students apply and every year we get upwards of 60 or 70 applications. They are drawn not just from corporate-era schools because we make it very deliberate that it's not just simply a tone phenomenon, right? This year's recipients come from Knox College, Holmwood Technical, Walmers Boys and Girls, right? Jamaica College, Campion College, Excelsior High, right? The minimum criteria, you must maintain a 65% average. You must obviously be participating in a sporting discipline and you obviously need to remain registered in high school. And that's important because it's a multi-year scholarship. It's not simply a one-off thing. So if you get that scholarship in second form and presumably you go to upper six, you have that scholarship for five years. And the total value of those who received was $180,000. So what's the average level of the recipients as far as where they are in high school? We don't accept applications from seventh graders because obviously they would not have participated in extracurricular enough by the time the application cycle starts. But the average year is third or fourth form, right? Which means that they have at least three years of eligibility should they go to upper six. Can you talk to us about, well, when we were discussing it on the day that the launch was this year, we got information about some of the success stories about these scholarship winners, pilots and so on. And national table tennis champions, et cetera. Yeah, very impressive. So how satisfied are you with that turnout? We are impressed, we are very proud, we are grateful, we are humbled that we were a part of their story, right? Jovane Atkinson, a recipient in 2013, I think the inaugural is now a certified pilot, right? With American Eagle, right? We have former JC athlete standout, Jovane Blake, right? We've assisted. Jayanna Lewis, national table tennis representative, third ranked and she was our guest speaker a few days ago. But we are also soliciting more assistance, right? We have a fundraising gala and that is on the 4th of November and that's geared towards ensuring that we can continue. The theme is a legacy of greatness, looking back, reaching forward, right? A decade of difference. We've made a decade of difference and we want to chart a course for additional decades to come. Yeah, love the title. I know you have a six aside competition coming up. Maybe you can give us some details. Sure, so we are relaunching because during the pandemic there was a lull and so we are excited to relaunch the six aside, the Shelly and Fraser prize six aside football competition tomorrow. It will be at 2.30 the launch at Fesco Oval, formerly Fosco Oval, right? So we've keep on the F, right? Fesco Oval and the six aside is not just simply again about sports. It's uniting communities through sports. The participants will come from neighboring communities in the waters, Penwood era, Spanish town road and it culminates on the 19th of November. So it is launched tomorrow and it will be held every Saturday until the 19th of November. All right, well, Dr. Macalpin, we want to tell you keep up the good work. Thank you for stopping by on the Sports Snack Zone and we'll talk again soon. Sure, thank you. And tell Shelly, tell Shelly hi for us. Oh, certainly will. Thank you for having me. Yeah, break time.