The Palmyra Foundation is now making preparations to supply books for the upcoming 2010/2011 school year.
THE PALMYRA FOUNDATION CONTINUES ITS EFFORTS TO PROVIDE TEXTBOOKS TO INFANT SCHOOL CHILDREN IN 2010
(Rose Hall, Montego Bay, Jamaica) - December 30, 2009: Officially launched in 2007, The Palmyra Foundation provided 15,000 textbooks to 2,000 children in its first year. The 2008 effort started at the country's largest public infant school, the Montego Bay Infant School where almost 1,000 4 - 6 year old children received their textbooks from the Foundation. This was followed by visits to all 88 public infant schools in each of the country's 14 parishes which included 7 schools in the Port Antonio Region, 21 schools in St. James, Hanover & Westmoreland, 12 schools in the Browns Town Area, 18 schools in the Kingston area, 10 schools in the Mandeville area and 20 schools in Old Harbour vicinity.
In the first two years, the distribution of free textbooks was well received by teachers and principals across the island. Said Mr. Eann Singh, Principal of Vaughansfield School in St. James, "We have found that the children who have textbooks are much better equipped to deal with the next grade, in comparison to students who did not have text books. They start reading and get used to having their very own set of books at school and so, they learn the importance of books and gravitate towards them."
In 2008, over 40 volunteers from all over Jamaica and ex-patriots from The United States, Italy, England, India, Ireland, Spain, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Columbia, Romania, Canada and Mexico participated to bundle, delivered and distributed the books across the island, a truly global group of social entrepreneurs, that helped to create a better future for the children of Jamaica. With the help of these volunteers, the Foundation was able to distribute almost 50,000 textbooks worth JA$20.3M (US$285,000) to 10,971 infant school children across Jamaica.
Funds were raised via two gala events and generous donations from partners in the private sector, while 100% of the Foundation's operational expenses have been generously absorbed by The Palmyra Resort & Spa.
The Palmyra Foundation is now making preparations to supply books for the upcoming 2010/2011 school year, for which book distributions are planned to begin sometime in August. Volunteers and sponsors are invited to contact The Palmyra Resort & Spa for information on how to get involved. States the operating committee, "Due to the help of our sponsors and volunteers, we were able to make a difference to almost 11,000 children. Let's aim for reaching even more young people this year."
