Kingston, Jamaica – November
27, 2013
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DONATION
TO FFP 30TH ANNIVERSARY SCHOOL FURNITURE PROGRAMME: Chairman of
Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica, Andrew Mahfood (left), expresses delight in
accepting a J$2 million donation from Chairman of the Continental Baking
Company Limited, Gary Hendrickson during a presentation ceremony
recently. This contribution will
go towards the purchase of a 40-foot container load of 1100 student desks and
chairs that will assist FFP with its 30th Anniversary School
Furniture Programme. The FFP School Furniture initiative will be of utmost
importance in improving the teaching / learning and aesthetic environment of
schools. It was inspired by the Ministry of Education’s stated need for
thousands of desks and chairs to satisfy the dire furniture requirements of
public educational institutions islandwide.
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Support from corporate Jamaica and civil society is
growing for the Food For The Poor (FFP) 30th Anniversary School
Furniture Programme, which was launched recently. So far, five companies and
one Foundation have made donations.
The donations made to date,
in addition to the contribution from FFP Head Office, will allow FFP to
purchase 6,050 student chairs and desks. FFP
will be handing over in the January 2014 school term, the first 2,200 desks and
chairs, which are fully funded by the charity.
PLEA FOR MORE BUSINESSES TO
ASSIST FFP SCHOOL FURNITURE DRIVE
While expressing delight at
the positive responses from the six organizations, Andrew
Mahfood, Chairman, FFP Jamaica appealed for much more businesses and ordinary
citizens to follow suit. “To provide the required desks and chairs for our
school children, we need as much help as we can get from businesses, private sector foundations, civil society and all
Jamaicans,” urged Mr. Mahfood. “This is our 30th birthday present
that we are asking everyone for, so that we can take that present and give it
to the children of our country”, he added. The FFPJ Chairman has
also called on Jamaicans living in the Diaspora, to assist the Programme in
achieving its target of raising a total of US $300,000 (i.e. the equivalent
of J $31.5 million).
The charity has set as its
target the provision of no fewer than 15,000 school desks and chairs to
educational institutions islandwide between October 2013 and the end of the
2013-2014 academic year.
SIX MAJOR DONORS COME ON
BOARD
Mr. Mahfood has high praises
for all six donor organizations: Continental Baking Company, Lasco Affiliated
Companies, Wisynco Group, Tank Weld, Spanish Development Foundation, and Proven
Wealth which have come on board: “We thank you for your substantial
contribution in assisting us in helping to create an aesthetically pleasing and
child-friendly environment in our schools. Our children are badly in need of
these necessary tools, so you are helping to create a positive difference in
their lives.”
The first company to make a
significant donation to the Programme was Continental Baking Company Ltd.
(National), which has contributed to the purchase of one 40-foot-container-load of 1,100
student desks and chairs. Making the
presentation, Gary ‘Butch’ Hendrickson, Chairman of the company, said, “This
donation is made on behalf of the staff here at Continental Baking Company
towards your charity’s efforts in education.”
Lasco Affiliated Companies' donation also financed the purchase of a 40-foot-container-load
of 1,100 student desks and chairs. The donations from Spanish-Jamaica Foundation, Tank Weld and Wisynco will purchase one and
half container.
All the donor groups have
commended FFP for its efforts in assisting the children of Jamaica and have
expressed the wish that their contributions will aid the charity in meeting its
school furniture provision-target.
FFP TO IMPROVE LEARNING
& AESTHETIC ENVIRONMENT IN SCHOOLS
FFP’s
30th Anniversary School Furniture Programme is intended to satisfy the dire furniture requirements
of schools, which are facing an acute shortage of these much-needed supplies. Mr. Mahfood
noted that his charity is determined that Jamaica’s children should be allowed
to reach their highest potential in a comfortable and nurturing learning
environment.
FFP believes its 30th Anniversary
School Furniture initiative will be of great
importance in improving the teaching / learning and aesthetic environment of
schools. It was inspired by the Ministry of Education’s stated need
for thousands of desks and chairs to satisfy the dire furniture requirements of
public educational institutions islandwide.
This 30th Anniversary School Furniture initiative is the latest in a series of
school furniture distributions by FFP over the years. Between January and August this year, 36 schools received school
furniture from FFP.
HOW TO MAKE
DONATIONS
Donors to the 30th Anniversary School
Furniture Programme may make their contributions online at: foodforthepoor.org/schoolfurniture. Persons may also send their commitments to jacquelinej@foodforthepoorja.org and deposit their donations to NCB St.
Jago Shopping Centre Branch, Account number 47-1043885. Those
wishing to make US dollar donations should lodge to the NCB St. Jago Shopping
Centre Branch, Account Number 47-4335267.
Food For The Poor (FFP)-Jamaica is the largest charity organization
in the country. Food For The Poor Inc., located in Florida, USA, was
named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international
relief and development organization in the United States.
It is an interdenominational Christian agency that
does much more than feed the millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the
Caribbean and Latin America. FFP provides emergency relief assistance, clean
water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the
aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more
than 95% of all donations going directly to programmes that help the poor. For
more information visit our Web site at www.foodforthepoorja.com
Contact:
Erica James-King, PROComm, T: 926-6740 or 564-5277
Petri-Ann Henry, Food For The Poor, T: 984-5005 or 564-288
