Welcome to JamWalk! A Saturday with the Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

It had been a rough week for me, so last week Thursday when the email came in about a charity walk being put on by Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation, I curiously clicked on the link. Upon reading the description, I instantly replied, “Yes! I am interested in covering this.” I am a person who knows the benefits of walking outdoors for your mental health, and the fact that it was for a good cause was an added bonus.

This year the JamWalk was held at the Palais Royale tented Courtyard Patio, on Saturday, September 26^th, 2020. The focus; supporting education in Jamaica

Palais Royale tented Courtyard Patio. It was a 5km walk to put towards the efforts that are currently underway on the beautiful island.

To date, they have raised more than $2 million dollars for education in Jamaica, with 22 schools proudly enhancing the lives of students. While I was at JamWalk, I had an opportunity to learn about the amazing group of individuals who volunteer their time, and their energy to do this incredible work.

Our first introduction will be to Karl Hale, Founder and Co-Chair of The Helping Jamaica Hands Foundation. He was born in Falmouth Jamaica and is well known for his tenacious tennis skills. He played the Davis Cup for Jamaica for ten years, and he is currently the Tournament Director of the Rogers Cup Tennis Tournament in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as well as the Director of Racquet Sports at the prestigious Donalda Club. Not new to philanthropy work, Karl is also the founder of the Daniel Nestor Celebrity Charity Event, which has raised over $700,000 for North York General Hospital and Tennis Canada Go for Gold Fund.

He is joined by a wonder team of volunteers who have assisted in the success of the foundation:

• Alene Chen (Treasurer, First Vice President of The Alliance of Jamaica Alumni Associations)
• Mark Josephs (President of Kisko Freezies and the Mr Freeze brand)
• Denise Jones (President and Co-Founder of Jones & Jones Productions Ltd)
• Bruce Chin (Deloitte’s National Audit Advisory)
• Michael Carter (Founder of MyThum)
• Philip Rose (Jamaica Tourist Board)
• Bruce Croxon (Co-founder Lavalife)

Together with a wonderful team of volunteers, they were able to pull off the impossible. COVID-19 sadly cancelled the 2020 Voluntourism School Build; however, the team was able to fulfil their commitment of building a primary school in the parish of St. Mary. I was delighted to hear this because I have special ties to St. Mary. My father was born and raised in St. Mary, and upon hearing this news he was delighted.

The team worked with their donors and were able to complete a build in the memory of Rupert Cupidore and Cislyn Sinclair Cupidore. Cislyn Sinclair Cupidore was born in St. Mary and even after her move to the United States; she remained strongly bonded with her parish. The team in Jamaica were able to complete:

• An Infant Department with four classrooms
• A Resource Room/Library
• Two Additional Classrooms (to help decrease the number of classes that have been turned into multi-grade classes)
• A Guidance Counselling Unit
• A Water Harvesting System
• A Playground and Fencing

I had a chance to speak with Natasha Borota, founder of the It Factor Limited, a full service-marketing agency, and she filled me in on some of the details of the event.

“How did you get involved with this foundation Natasha?” I inquired.

“I have travelled to Jamaica many times, and during my time I fell in love with the island. Part of my work is assisting in Philanthropic Initiatives for Celebrities, and with this foundation in particular, it is a labour of love. When you are passionate about something, you can justify putting your energy into it.

The JamWalk was supposed to be in June, but of course it was delayed. We didn’t let this pandemic stop us. We worked it out, we have been able to stay under the guidelines provided by the government, and this year has actually turned out to be the highest fundraising event to date. We raised $37,000 for JamWalk this year, and it turned out to be a great time to fellowship with each other and enjoy each other’s company.”

I thanked Natasha, and as I looked across the room, I noticed that the ever energetic Angella Bennett (Regional Director of Tourism Canada, for the Jamaica Tourist Board). I knew they had been involved with this event as well, so I made my way over to her.

She saw me and smiled at me warmly. “Hey Simone! Great to see you here.”

“Great to see you Angella. Do you have a few minutes to fill me in on how the Jamaica Tourist Board has become involved with The Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation?

“Of course, Simone,” she began. “Jamaica Tourist Board and The Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation have been friends for years. My predecessor was also tightly connected with Helping Hands Jamaica and having the ability to give back to Jamaica the gift education is something that aligns perfectly with what the Jamaica Tourist board stands for.

 It is something that we can be very proud of. It is exciting to see them build school after school every single year. This year they hired teams from Jamaica to build the schools and kept them employed during the pandemic.

 The children in Jamaica need all the help they can get, so to see this volunteer team come together, doing these walks to raise funds for this cause, warms my heart. I am always so proud to be a part of it.”

After strolling along the boardwalk, enjoying a delicious brunch, socializing with old and new friends, and learning about how we as a community can support upcoming Voluntourism School Builds in Jamaica, I was in an amazing mood. I better be I had a lot of articles to write this weekend.

What a great time to get involved. To learn more visit https://www.helpinghandsjamaica.com