By Jasminee Sahoye
Jamaica’s singing sensation and winner of the 2013 NBC TV singing competition, The Voice, Tessanne Chin will be recognized at this year’s University of West Indies Toronto Benefit Gala in March.
She will be among two other outstanding people who will receive the Luminary award. Joining her is Jamaican musician, singer and actor, Jimmy Cliff and Liberal Member of Parliament, Vancouver Centre and Physician, Trinidad-born, Dr. Hedy Fry.
Chin toured with Cliff for three years as a back-up singer. Cliff is the recipient of the Order of Merit, the highest honour awarded by the Jamaican government for achievement in the arts and sciences.
Cliff’s hit songs include “Wonderful World, Beautiful People”, “The Harder They Come”, “You Can Get It If You Really Want” and “Many Rivers to Cross”. He also starred in the movie “The Harder They Come.”
According to the UWI Toronto Benefit Gala Patron, G. Raymond Chang, the event will be held at the Ritz Carlton in Toronto on March 29 with Scotiabank as lead sponsor for the fifth consecutive year.
“In four years, the event has raised funds for over 140 scholarships for UWI students in great need and who are most appreciative of the support you have provided. We are also privileged to be recognizing a number of individuals and organizations that have contributed significantly to their communities – in Canada and internationally and who embody the event’s motto of Light, Learning and Liberty.”
The gala will also honour The Hospital for Sick Children with the Chancellor’s Award. Five other distinguished people will be honoured with the Vice-Chancellor’s Award: Reverend Peter DeCourcy Fenty, a Barbadian and the first black Bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada, Dr. Anna Jarvis, Professor Emerita, Paediatrics Department. University of Toronto, Mrs. Delores Lawrence, Entrepreneur, Mentor, Philanthropist, Mr. Roger Mooking, celebrity chef, television host, author, recording artist and Mr.David Taylor, a Management Accountant and President of Barvid Financial Services Inc.