The Jackie Towell Scholarship

Intended to help anyone who is qualified to take The Oxford Punch Needle Rug Hooking Instructor Certification Course, this Scholarship was established by the Oxford Punch Needle Instructors Guild (OPNIG) in 2018 to honor Jackie Towell, who passed away in 2017. Jackie was one of our most dedicated Oxford Instructors, teaching countless people how to punch. She was also funny, kind and generous – in short, a wonderful role model for all Oxford Instructors.

Jackie Towell was British and taught in the United Kingdom, Long Island (New York), and later in Florida, where she and her husband retired. In addition to teaching classes and private lessons for adults and children, Jackie volunteered her skills to work with at-risk young people, hospital patients recovering from head injuries, and students with communication difficulties.

While Jackie lived on Long Island she studied with the famous punch needle rug maker, George Wells. She’s the person who passed along the timesaving “thumb trick” from Mr. Wells that we use today. You can see Jackie’s work in Amy Oxford’s book, Punch Needle Rug Hooking.

In addition to her love of rug punching and teaching, the story of Jackie’s life is exceptional. She was a remarkable person and a true inspiration to everyone who met her. Jackie, her brother, and parents were prisoners of war during WWII in Manilla, starting when Manilla was invaded by Japan. She spent the entire war in a Japanese prisoner of war camp and went blind from malnutrition caused by starvation. After being released by the Americans, she had to spend two years in a dark room to regain her sight and spent the rest of her life suffering from other health problems caused by her internment.

Many years later Jackie was honored by the Japanese when they asked her to christen a ship. She has been honored at the British War Museum in an exhibit and ceremony honoring child prisoners of war and was also included in a book that was part of the exhibit called Young Voices by Lyn Smith.

In addition to this, she was also a British spy operating in the Far East and was able to help gather important information and received a medal for her service. This was top secret until a few years ago.

By creating the Jackie Towell Scholarship, OPNIG wants to carry on Jackie’s legacy and assist someone who might not otherwise be able to finance the course, to attend the Oxford Instructor Certification Course with any Advanced Oxford Certified Instructor and attain her or his Oxford Punch Needle Instructor Certification.

HOW IT WORKS

Important Dates:

Applications are accepted starting January 1st, 2025
Deadline to apply is February 1st, 2025. No further applications will be accepted after this date.
The OPNIG (Oxford Punch Needle Instructors Guild) Scholarship Committee and members of the OPNIG board will review all applications after February 1st and will select two people to receive a scholarship. The lucky recipients will be notified by the end of February.

Eligibility: The Jackie Towell Scholarship welcomes applications from any student who qualifies to attend the Oxford Instructor Certification Program with any Advanced Oxford Instructor. You can find the program dates and locations here: https://amyoxford.com/collections/instructor-certification-program/products/oxford-punch-needle-instructor-certification-program There will be two Scholarships awarded this year.

How to Apply: The application for this scholarship is simply a letter to the Board of Directors of the Oxford Punch Needle Instructors Guild. In the letter, applicants must include the following:

Something about themselves and why they want to become an Oxford Certified Punch Needle Instructor
A description of their experience in punch needle work to date;
A detailed estimate of their total cost to attend the school (e.g., travel, accommodation, course fees, materials) and how funding from the Jackie Towell Scholarship would help defray the cost and supplement their own resources; and
A commitment to writing a short article for the Oxford Certified Instructors Newsletter within 6 months of receiving the Scholarship, should they be the successful candidate, and a suggested topic for the article.

Scholarship Amount: In 2025, there will be two scholarships awarded in the amount of $700 USD each. The funds of $700 are paid directly to the Advanced Oxford Instructor the successful applicants are taking the course with on behalf of the recipients, reducing the tuition owed.

Applications should be addressed to: Paulette Staats, Scholarship Chair, and be sent by email to: opnig18@gmail.com and pettestaats@yahoo.com

Additional Information:

The awarding of the scholarship will be managed by the Board of OPNIG ( Oxford Punch Needle Instructors Guild).

Funding for the Scholarship comes primarily from two sources; fundraising by the Oxford Punch Needle Instructors Guild and its members, and generous contributions from The Oxford Company. Other donations are also occasionally received and appreciated.

Please note: OPNIG welcomes contributions to the Scholarship fund at any time; donations will be gratefully acknowledged and charitable receipts for tax purposes will be provided for amounts over US$25.00. Checks or money orders must be in US funds, made out to the Oxford Punch Needle Instructors Guild with a note stating that the funds are to be directed to the Jackie Towell Scholarship. Please email the Treasurer at OPNIG18@gmail.com for the current address to send a donation.