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Alumnae of the Bukit Bintang Girls’ School (BBGS) will be celebrating the 125th anniversary of the founding of BBGS this year with a series of activities.

In underscoring a heritage of excellence in education and the spirit of giving, the theme for this celebration is Reach for the Stars.

The highlight will be its gala dinner to be held on Oct 6.

Funds raised from the dinner will go towards the Elena Cooke Education Fund to help finance the tertiary education of young Malaysians facing financial challenges.

BBGS Alumni Bhd chairman Moey Yoke Lai said: “The fund is named after Miss Elena Cooke, a student, teacher and the 10th principal of the school. It was launched in 2009 in her honour and to continue our legacy of giving every opportunity to deserving young people to realise their potential.

“To date, through the generous donations of our alumnae, our education partners, friends and corporations, the fund has helped finance the tertiary education of 32 young Malaysians who want but could not afford the cost of continuing education.

“Every year, we have to turn away many applicants who need financial help to continue their studies after Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia. A key objective of our anniversary celebrations is to raise more funds to help even more deserving students from poor and troubled families to pursue quality education after secondary school. This will certainly make a difference in their lives.

“These students come from all over the country and from diverse challenging backgrounds. But they all have this in common: they have dreams, they want to make their parents or grandparents proud and want to provide a better life for them.”

Among the criteria for application to the Elena Cooke Education Fund are: families