Rotaract Club of Tortola Helps Families in Need to Prepare for this School Term

by Charities

A few months ago, the Rotaract Club of Tortola held a fundraiser, received donations from the community and solicited discounts from businesses to be able to furnish families in need through an organisation called, ‘Family Support Network’ and the local Social Development Department with Back to School items which including book bags filled with stationery supplies, uniforms, shoes, and textbooks.

Note:  Families/children were not directly presented with items due to an agreement on confidentiality practices.

Though this was some time ago, the Rotaract Club of Tortola is a part of Rotaract District 7020, the youth arm of Rotary. Rotaract District 7020 has more than 50 clubs and The Rotaract Club of Tortola was recognized as Club of the Quarter for their various efforts to supply necessary aid to their community, having a close relationship with their sponsoring Rotary Club as well as other Rotaract clubs in the District and by developing themselves personally and professionally. Their Back To School donations to families in need was their main project for the Quarter.

I am sure many projects are in the pipeline to lift persons and their communities this Christmas. Email [email protected] to find a Rotaract Club near you so you can either join or do a good deed this Christmas.

Active Territories in Rotaract District 7020 are Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Haiti, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, St. Maarten (Dutch W.I.), St. Martin (French W.I.), Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Simply Red Wine & Food Festival tomorrow! Get your tickets now

by Charities

The Heart Foundation’s annual fundraiser, Simply Red, will be tomorrow on the lawns of Jamaica House at 7pm. You should still be able to get tickets at The Heart Foundation of Jamaica, Pop Up Gourmet, Swiss Stores (Downtown) or Island Grill (New Kgn, Twin Gates & Manor Park for $5000JMD. Celebrity Chefs and more will be there!

 

ICCD 2014 at the Palisadoes Strip, Jamaica

International Coastal Cleanup Day Jamaica 2014 was a Success!

by Charities
ICCD 2014 at the Palisadoes Strip, Jamaica
ICCD 2014 at the Palisadoes Strip, Jamaica

On Saturday, September 20th, the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) had overseen over 100 cleanup sites island wide, including 10 underwater with the participation of 1000s of volunteers.

Gabby from SuGa volunteered by the entrance at the Palisadoes strip. Registration was smooth and very organised, since the majority of volunteers were pre-registered and already had armbands.

The garbage collected was significantly less this year compared to last year, which is a good indication that JET’s environmental workshops and various awareness programmes throughout the year are starting to pay off.

Kudos to JET, as well as the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and the National Environment & Planning Agency (NEPA) who partnered together and organised a massive cleanup at Hellshire Bay Beach.

Keep Jamaica Clean, ‘Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica’ !

Kids from the Jamaica Christian Boys Home get a Day Out to Tour the Institute of Jamaica

by Charities

The New Kingston Rotaract Club in partnership with the Institute of Jamaica hosted marginalised boys from the Jamaica Christian Boys Home, between the ages of 7 and 17 on July 18, 2014 at the Institute of Jamaica. The children were exposed, educated and their awareness broadened, while they also got time away from their place of residence.

The activities of the day included Exhibitions of Rastafari, Equal Rights, Reggae and Social Change, National Art in Schools and a viewing of the National History Museum Discovery Room.

After the exhibitions, the boys enjoyed lunch provided by the New Kingston Rotaract Club.

As many good deeds like this often go under the radar, many Clubs and Non-Profit Organisations like the New Kingston Rotaract Club continue to work hard and serve the unfortunate selflessly, offering many opportunities for them to progress as well. Feel free to like or join the New Kingston Rotaract Club’s Facebook page, ‘New Kingston Rotaract Club’, to see what else they have in store this year and perhaps contribute to their efforts as well.

Rotaract Clubs of Kingston and Grand Turk Partner to Feed the Homeless for Labour Day

by Charities

The Care Package Giveaway Part II on Labour Day was a success. The Rotaract club of Grand Turk from the Turks and Caicos Islands assisted the Rotaract Club of Kingston in purchasing packages for the homeless. 132 packages were distributed to each homeless person seen, compared to 64 packages in Part I, where 121 were full packages containing crackers, tin food, a drink and soap and 11 were smaller packages containing tin food.

Rotaractors branched out into teams and packages were distributed by the Supreme Court, then by Duke Street and Parade, on the way to Crossroads and then all teams settled by Silver Slipper Plaza, where the remainder of the packages were distributed.

The recipients of the packages were truly grateful and a wider cross-section of persons were reached this time around.

The 8th Staging of Rotaract Club of Kingston’s Annual Inner City Art Competition

by Charities

The Rotaract Club of Kingston hosted their 8th Annual Inner City Art Competition on Sunday, March 16, 2014 at Frame Centre Gallery on Ardenne Road. The event exhibited a melting pot of expressions via painting, sculpting, drawing and the newly added category, photography, from several artists who displayed their talents, relating to this year’s theme “Set Me Free”. The Inner City Art Competition was implemented to create opportunities to educate untrained artists, ages 18 to 30 from inner city communities, as well as to publicize their artistic talents.

Ms. Amashika Lorne, Project Manager of JN Foundation’s Resolution Project facilitated the entry of a few photographic pieces from persons that are a part of the project. The Resolution Project’s main goal is the promotion of advocacy through the art of Photography amongst high school students in rural Jamaica. It was a pleasure to have them enter this year and they will be returning next year.

Patrons were entertained throughout the evening by the soothing sounds of saxophonist, Kevin Bonfield and the lively, Reggae Redemption band. They also enjoyed wine and tasteful delights provided by Steve’s catering.

The competitors were judged by Mrs. Charmaine McIntosh, curator of Frame Centre Gallery and Mr. Kori Thompson, freelance artist.

At the end of the night the winners of the competition were announced with Jason Hall’s graphic painting depicting that ‘Drugs Kill’ taking 1st place, Deneka Gooden’s photo in 2nd and Romando Roxburgh’s photo taking 3rd place. All received certificates. Jason Hall received a scholarship for a course at a tertiary institution. He will be given the option to do a course at the Edna Manley School for the Performing and Visual Arts or the Creative Production and Training Centre (CPTC) to gain further knowledge and enhance his natural artistic skills. He received a cash prize of $10,0000JMD as well. 2nd place took home a cash prize of $5000JMD and a gift basket was given to the 3rd place winner, Romando.

Past contestant, Mr. Marvin Thompson from 2011’s competition, who placed second, was accepted into the Bachelor’s Degree Programme of Arts Education at the Edna Manley School for the Performing and Visual Arts following his summer course on scholarship from the Rotaract Club of Kingston. He is doing very well and has one year remaining. The Rotaract Club of Kingston looks forward to hearing more successful, positive stories from their past contestants and prize winners.

Club President, Sean Morgan and Director of Community Service, Pierce Ramsay were proud with the turnout of this year’s event, giving thanks to the main sponsor, Frame Centre Gallery who assisted in making the night a success.