Eight schools have received $30,000 each thanks to a reinsurance firm’s successful “Dollars for Hours” initiative.

The PartnerRe Ltd scheme pairs student volunteers with local charities on community projects across the Island.

The money is expected to go towards classroom upgrades, scholarship funds, equipment and extra-curriculum activity support.

At a presentation last night to showcase the students’ achievements, PartnerRe’s president and chief executive, Costas Miranthis, and Education Minister Grant Gibbons congratulated the students on their hard work.

“2014 marks the ninth time that we have paired local charities with the secondary schools, bringing our total Dollars for Hours donation to more than $2 million since the programme’s inception,” Mr Miranthis said.

“As a Bermudian company, we have a genuine interest in Bermuda and in particular, its young people.

“Dollars for Hours is a long-term partnership that creates a win-win-win situation for everyone involved.”

Over the years, Dollars for Hours has helped more than 1,500 students from eight secondary schools donate 17,000 hours of hands-on support to local charities for a total donation of more than $2 million to date.

This year the students, between the ages of 14 and 18, successfully completed projects ranging from environmental schemes, educational projects and health-related initiatives.

The projects included: Bermuda Diabetes Association and Mount Saint Agnes, Diabetes risk-assessment survey; Bermuda Institute of Ocean Science and Somersfield, Cooper’s Island Nature Reserve clean-up; Bermuda National Trust and CedarBridge, conservation management at the Sherwin Nature Reserve; Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute and Warwick Academy, community survey to track public awareness of BUEI; Greenrock and Bermuda Institute, healthy harvest community garden; Kaleidoscope and Saltus, mural painting and garden cultivation at the Kaleidoscope building; Meals on Wheels and the Bermuda High School, kitchen cleaning project; and the Women’s Resource Centre and the Berkeley Institute, annual tag day preparation.