Bermuda's youth is set to benefit from a series of programmes and services sponsored by the newly-formed Argo Foundation, The Royal Gazette can exclusively reveal.

Argo Group International Holdings Ltd., an international property and casualty specialty re/insurer, set up the Foundation to oversee the allocation of funds to qualifying non-profit organisations and charities on the Island.

The Foundation has been established as a Bermuda limited liability company with Mark Watson III as chairman, Barbara Bufkin as deputy chairman and Wendy Davis Johnson president.

The board has nominated an Allocations Committee made up of a cross-section of Bermudians representing for-profit and non-profit organisations as well as Argo Group employees. The Committee will consider applications for funding and choose which charities will be awarded grants by the Foundation.

The members of the Allocations Committee include Wendy Augustus, executive director of the Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Trust, Bruce Barritt, general manager of John Barritt & Son Ltd., and Gita Blakeney Saltus, development director at the Bermuda National Gallery.

Glenn Fubler, labour relations officer at the Department of Labour and Training and founder of Imagine Bermuda, Anne Mello, chairperson of Bermuda End-to-End, and Dianna Mitchell, assistant vice-president of human resources at the Argo Group, will aslo sit on the committee.

They are joined by Martin Russell, assistant vice-president of finance at the Argo Group, Patrick Tannock, executive vice-president and chief underwriter of professional lines at Ace Bermuda, Andrew Vaucrosson, vice-president of operational risk management at Zurich Investment Services Ltd. and president of Greenrock.

"It is the intention of Argo Group not only to provide value to its business partners and employees, but also to make a difference in the communities in which its member companies do business," said Mr. Watson.

"In the context of Bermuda, Argo Group believes Bermuda's future looks brightest when its young people are given the tools they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive and increasingly globalised marketplace.

"The vision of Argo Group is 'Outstanding results. Realised together'. My colleagues and I focus on working in partnership with our clients, shareholders and employees to achieve success. This is exemplified in our tag line 'Get there together'.

"In keeping with Argo Group's focus on the power of collaboration to achieve results, the overarching objective of The Argo Foundation is to work in partnership with non-profit organisations in Bermuda to achieve success on behalf of Bermuda's youth.

"The Argo Foundation will invest in programmes and services that enrich the lives of Bermuda's young people, to assist them where we can in preparing them for a productive and rewarding future."

Any decisions on funding will be made during quarterly meetings by the Allocations Committee, with the criteria stipulating that the organisation is a Bermuda-registered charity, has an active board of governors who meet on a regular basis, financial statements are filed with the Charities Commissioner according to the schedule established by the Commissioner, programmes and services offered by the organisation are not duplicated by other non-profits on the Island, and applications are submitted directly to the Allocations Committee, using the Argo Foundation application form.

"I am very grateful for, and sincerely appreciate, the interest expressed by the members of the Allocations Committee in developing The Argo Foundation over time into one that makes a difference in the quality of life in Bermuda," said Mr. Watson. "I look forward to working with them in this regard."