By:
On:
In: COMMUNITY SERVICE
With: 0 Comments

The Mount Zion House of Refuge Children’s Home in Linstead, St Catherine, was surprised with a donation of $100,000 on the closing day of the inaugural staging of the programme dubbed Football With A Twist. The five-week programme, which ran from July 8 to August 12, taught children discipline and other valuable traits through football. A total of 56 children - boys and girls from four to 12 years old - participated. One of them, Tsahai Clarke, told The Beacon that her summer was well spent as the initiative was also educational. “It is very nice to just come out here and to playRead More →

By:
On:
In: COMMUNITY SERVICE
With: 0 Comments

Starting a media organization in communities that are vastly rural and unaccustomed to media coverage can be quite a daunting task. “It has been a bitter sweet journey,” said Horace Mills, journalist and founder of The Jamaica Beacon. “The good thing is that many have given tremendous support and, in the end, good is prevailing. The importance of credible media outlets in communities cannot be over-started.” The Beacon, on Sunday, July 17, collected its latest award when it was honoured for its “outstanding service to the Lluidas Vale community” in St Catherine. The award was presented by the Kiwanis Club Royale Lluidas Vale whose presidentRead More →

By:
On:
In: BEACON OF THE DAY, COMMUNITY SERVICE
With: 0 Comments

Not even the novel coronavirus pandemic could have stopped her. Trudy Thomas travelled to Jamaica from the United States twice last year - August and December - to host her usual treats for hundreds of children in two communities. The giveaways took place at Moneague Primary School in St Ann and at Berwick Primary in Riversdale, St Catherine. A total of 200 children benefited in December. The wide variety of goodies they got included toys, snacks, clothes and school supplies such as knapsack bags with books and other stationery. “The people reacted very well; a lot of them were very happy,” Thomas told The Beacon,Read More →

By:
On:
In: BEACON OF THE DAY, COMMUNITY SERVICE, LINSTEAD
With: 0 Comments

When the games are over, the players join forces to build their community of Victoria in Linstead, St Catherine. Their group, Top Shelf Domino Team, kicked off its civic mission on February 12, de-bushing the community’s entrance and giving its welcome sign and entrance bridge a much-needed facelift. “A passerby with a tractor also assisted in grading off parts of the road,” said Shalene Harris, also called Judeen, who co-founded the group. The project has been embraced by the community. Dixon’s Drug Store in Linstead, for example, sponsored the renovation of the welcome sign. Regarding the genesis of the Top Shelf group, Harris explained thatRead More →

By:
On:
In: BEACON OF THE DAY, COMMUNITY SERVICE
With: 0 Comments

In true spirit of community, residents of Frontier Phase 2 in Port Maria, St Mary, recently raised funds and carried out much-needed improvement to the road and general aesthetics of their district. “We will not sit down and wait on the politicians,” asserted Shannon Danhi-Adams, public relations officer of Frontier Phase 2 Citizens’ Association. She noted that, when the residents came together to get the work done, both their Member of Parliament Dr. Morais Guy and Councillor Germaine Smiley pitched in. “The councillor and the MP gave us a little assistance. It wasn’t much, but we are still happy for what weRead More →

By:
On:
In: BEACON OF THE DAY, COMMUNITY SERVICE
With: 0 Comments

Many people use up more groceries during the Christmas season. And that is among the reasons Roujo-k Wilson waited until January 15 to distribute 200 care packages to residents of several communities in and around Linstead, St. Catherine. She and her team also served cooked meals to homeless and other indigent people in the streets of Linstead. Children struggling to access online classes were not left out of the grand give-away. Seven of them walked away with computers, thanks to Sky Is The Limit Foundation, founded by Wilson. “I thank the foundation for the gift,” a beaming senior citizen, Leanora Harrison, said. She left theRead More →

By:
On:
In: BEACON OF THE DAY, COMMUNITY SERVICE, NEWS
With: 0 Comments

In a show of unity and benevolence, past students of Jose Marti Technical High School on Monday presented several awards and more than $1.3 million in scholarships and grants to students, employees and departments at the institution on the outskirts of Spanish Town, St. Catherine. The contribution, made despite challenges resulting from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, is part of the year-long celebration of the school’s 45th anniversary. Acting principal, Michelle Bogle, commended past students across the world for what she described as their unwavering interest in the school and its students. “Even in this our worst of times with this pandemic, you have foundRead More →

By:
On:
In: BEACON OF THE DAY, COMMUNITY SERVICE, NEWS
With: 0 Comments

It perhaps is surprising that Fitzroy Tucker, well known as Writey Writey, remains at the rank of constable 12 years after he enlisted in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). But that has not daunted the spirit of the traffic cop, who stands out wherever he is assigned as one of the hardest working and most non-nonsense law enforcers on the island. “Whether or not they want to give me [promotion], I will still go out there and do what I am supposed to do,” he told The Beacon. “I do it for the love, not for the likes.” Although promotion remains elusive, Constable Tucker, withinRead More →

By:
On:
In: AWARDS, BEACON OF THE DAY, COMMUNITY SERVICE, NEWS
With: 0 Comments

Yvonne Campbell is a consummate leader who spent decades building organizations and uplifting people, and so her selection for a community award really comes as no surprise. “I enjoy helping people, and it feels good when they can show gratitude,” she said, noting that her deeds were never done with accolades in mind. Mindful of Campbell’s extraordinary contribution, the Ewarton Community Development Committee (Ewarton CDC) in St. Catherine honoured her. She, as well as Rachel Thomas, Madge Boyd and Leando Howell, received community service awards during a ceremony on November 25 at Bramwell Clarke Park in Ewarton town. Campbell is a Justice of the Peace,Read More →

By:
On:
In: AWARDS, BEACON OF THE DAY, BUSINESS, COMMUNITY SERVICE, LEADERSHIP
With: 1 Comment

After serving time in prison on drug-related charges while his brother was police commissioner, Leando Howell changed his life for the better - to the extent that he is now recipient of a prestigious community award. He is respected throughout his adopted community of Ewarton, St. Catherine, where his alias is “Bush Jacket”, reflecting his love for kariba shirts (also called bush jackets). That dress code is not the only thing for which Howell stands out. He also has made a name for establishing and managing one of the longest running and most vibrant round-robins around town. “A lot of people made something out ofRead More →

By:
On:
In: AWARDS, BEACON OF THE DAY, COMMUNITY SERVICE, HEALTH
With: 0 Comments

Despite illness rendering her virtually immobile, Rachel Thomas has continued to display dogged determination in pursuit of initiatives geared towards youth empowerment and community development. “I don’t use that (illness) as an issue; the important thing is just to know that I can reach someone,” she told The Beacon. “With my immobility, I want persons to see that regardless of what is happening to you, as long as you are able to do something, do it. There is always something you can do for others.” Thomas’ immense contribution has not gone unnoticed by the Ewarton Community Development Committee (Ewarton CDC) in St. Catherine. The committeeRead More →

By:
On:
In: BEACON OF THE DAY, COMMUNITY SERVICE, NEWS
With: 0 Comments

Without collecting a cent, George Bennett responded to an appeal for volunteers and is now on a mission to repaint Juan de-Bolas Primary School in the Lluidas Vale Division, St. Catherine. He walked several miles uphill last week Friday and Saturday to do a portion of the painting, but he ended up pausing because the paint ran out. Bennett hopes that, with more paint being donated, the entire school should get a facelift in time for the new school term in January 2022. The institution reopened yesterday for face-to-face classes after more than a year of closure due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. A painterRead More →

By:
On:
In: BEACON OF THE DAY, COMMUNITY SERVICE, LEADERSHIP, NEWS
With: 0 Comments

Despite being on the cusp of retiring from official office, Apostle Vincent James is musing on the next soul to be won for his maker’s kingdom. “I will travel and minister until my time comes to depart this life,” declares the preacher extraordinaire, who was baptized as far back as April 16, 1961. He made the big move at age 15 after accepting an invitation to attend a meeting at the then Apostolic Church of Jamaica, which, at the time, was headed by a Canadian missionary, Ray Naylor. That sanctuary has been renamed the Apostolic Church of Jamaica Miracle Tabernacle. It is located in St.Read More →

By:
On:
In: BEACON OF THE DAY, COMMUNITY SERVICE, NEWS
With: 0 Comments

Dixon’s Drug Store has voluntarily sanitized the four stations in the Linstead area of the St. Catherine North Police Division; this as it continues to display social responsibility amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The stations are in Linstead, Ewarton, Guy’s Hill and Bog Walk. “I see it as a part of my social responsibility to reach out wherever I can,” said Mark Demetrius, Manager of Dixon’s Drug Store in Linstead. It is not the first time that his entity is offering such service to public organizations since COVID-19 was confirmed on the island. “This is not the first that we are doing things likeRead More →

By:
On:
In: BEACON OF THE DAY, COMMUNITY SERVICE, HEALTH, NEWS
With: 1 Comment

Kevin Morrison is now convinced that, despite initial apprehension, he made the right choice. He recently opted to treat patients diagnosed with the highly contagious and deadly Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which scientists and medical experts globally are still to struggling to fathom. “I was scared on the first day when they asked me if I wanted to work with the patients - everybody generally was afraid,” Morrison said last leaving before commencing duties as a nurse at St. Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital in St. Ann. He added: “In that moment when I felt afraid, I also felt that I had a purpose; I feltRead More →