Staff and administrators of three children’s homes in St Catherine and St Andrew operated by the Mustard Seed Communities were overjoyed after receiving a donation of personal care and food items from the JN Foundation and employees across the JN Group, recently.
The three children’s homes which benefited were: Sophie’s Place in Gordon Town, St Andrew; My Father’s House, also in St Andrew; and Jerusalem, located in Spanish Town, St Catherine.
The homes received a total of 3,584 baby and adult diapers; 2,500 baby wipes; 1,000 feeding tubes and 300 packages of food drink.
“We are elated!” a very pleased Christine Madden Watson, administrator at Sophie’s Place exclaimed after being presented with the items by a team from the Foundation recently.
“The needs are ongoing. The children [who] we have are physically disabled and many of them are on medication so their nutritional needs are great. So we are always in need of dietary supplies,” she said.
Mrs Madden Watson was especially grateful for the diapers donated, noting that the ones provided by the Foundation are more resilient than the ones they currently have in stock.
“This particular brand diaper came just in time,” explained Mrs Watson.
Since 2013, the JN Foundation and employees of The Jamaica National Group have been supporting Sophie’s Place. Over the years, groups of JN employees also supported individual children by covering some of their monthly expenses.
Ezlyn McKenzie, administrator of My Father’s House in St Andrew was similarly grateful for the benevolence of the JN Foundation and JN employees. “We are a charitable organisation and the donation received from the JN Foundation is appreciated,” she said.
The home caters to 36 residents- 20 boys and 16 girls. They are physically and mentally challenged and are wheelchair-bound.
Chevanese Peters, programmes coordinator at the JN Foundation said the donation was made possible through a ‘Comfort for Christmas’ initiative organised by the JN Foundation where employees of The Jamaica National Group contributed diapers and funds towards the initiative.
“We know the needs at the Mustard Seed Communities are great and our members of staff did not hesitate to support the initiative and were happy to contribute,” she pointed out.
“Diapers and wipes were received through our ‘Comfort for Christmas’ initiative while the feeding tubes and food drink were acquired through our ‘Funds to Fuel a Nation’ project, where employees have been committing monthly donations that go towards funding the Mustard Seed Communities and other community projects,” she said.
