A total of eight secondary schools got a $30,000 boost from a reinsurance firm’s charity programme.

PartnerRe handed over the cash at the end of this year’s Dollars for Hours scheme, which paired pupils with charities on community projects and paid their schools for their time.

Brand manager Jaime Masters McDowell said: “Education is important to PartnerRe. As a Bermudian company, we have a real interest in Bermuda, and in particular its young people.

“Dollars for Hours makes a direct contribution to the schools, community and ultimately to the economy and creates a win-win situation for everyone involved.”

Pupils aged 14 to 18 completed environmental work, educational projects and social programmes.

Rodrigo Guerreiro and Seth Gibbons, both 16, were part of the CedarBridge Academy team of seven pupils who worked with the Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation, which includes gardening work for the handicapped among its activities.

Seth said: “We were building a garden shed for the Kaleidoscope Foundation as a charity project.”

Rodrigo said they worked with the Construction Association on a previous project and were able to use some of the skills they had learnt.

Warwick Academy students Chiara Marshall, 15, and Louise Crawford, 16, worked on a promotional video for disabled charity WindReach.

Louise said the team, which also included Emilie Konyecsni, created the footage to showcase the charity’s work for potential donors.

Chiara added: “A lot of people get the wrong idea and they think it’s just a petting zoo. WindReach actually helps people with disabilities learn life skills and come out of their shells.”

A group of pupils from the Berkeley Institute teamed up with cancer charity Pals

Jaquari Paynter, 17, said his team designed a folding table for nurses as part of their work with Dollars for Hours.

He added: “It is easier for them to carry. We just wanted to make something different.”

Jaime Procter and Leahnae Morton-Richardson, both 14, were part of a Bermuda High School group that helped promote this year’s PartnerRe’s 5k Women’s Race, organised with the Bermuda Heart Foundation.

Leahnae said the team split into three groups — social media, outdoor marketing and broadcasting. They also helped during the race with marshalling and preparation of race bags.

Jaime was part of the outdoor marketing drive which held up signs on East Broadway during the morning rush hour.

She said: “It was a great experience because we had to work as a team to promote the event.”

Leahnae, who was part of the broadcasting team, said they used a radio station to talk about sponsors and prizes.

She added: “We also talked about what to expect on the day. It was really fun.”

The students showcased their work at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute on Monday.

Ms McDowell and education minister Diallo Rabain congratulated the schoolchildren for their contributions.

More than 1,900 students have, over the years, donated about 23,000 hours of work to local charities in return for a total donation of $2,720,000 from Dollars for Hours.

The funds raised this year will be used for curriculum development, building upgrades, student support programmes, out of school activities and IT upgrades.

Projects included:

• Bermuda Institute and Greenrock — School garden project;

• MSA and the Reading Clinic — Learning aids project;

• Saltus and the Bermuda Audubon Society — Bluebird nest box project;

• Berkeley and Pals — Pals Fair event project;

• Warwick Academy and Windreach — Promotional video project;

• BHS and the Bermuda Heart Foundation — PartnerRe 5k marketing campaign project;

• Somersfield and the Bermuda Zoological Society — Trunk Island restoration project;

• Cedarbridge and Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation — garden shed project.