PriceSmart Foundation recently awarded grants to five nonprofit organizations in Jamaica, all of whom address issues faced by vulnerable populations in the communities where PriceSmart operates in that country. The grants aim to mitigate educational challenges affecting children, including inequitable access to safe, inclusive quality primary education for those living in poverty, low literacy and numeracy rates especially for boys, inadequate teaching and learning resources, and insufficient support for children’s nutrition, safety and wellness needs. In addition, the PriceSmart Foundation grants are addressing a lack of employment opportunities for young people, including limited career guidance, and access to quality apprenticeship and internship opportunities. One grant aims to reduce barriers faced by women in starting and growing small businesses to support themselves and their families.
The grantees – Children First Agency, RISE Life Management Services, Forward Step Foundation, Multi-Care Youth Foundation, and Young Women and Men of Purpose – received funding for initiatives that will improve the quality of life for populations in Kingston and Portmore. The supported activities will focus on life skills, resiliency and problem-solving for primary school children and parenting skills development; an afterschool program that provides academic and psychosocial support for primary school students; PEP exam preparation for primary school children and employability preparation for at-risk youth; vocational training, internships, mentorship, and job placement support for youth; and an entrepreneurship development program for young women, respectively.
The grant recipients expressed their excitement about receiving this support from PriceSmart Foundation. "The MultiCare Youth Foundation is thrilled to be collaborating with PriceSmart Foundation as we embark on a specially designed initiative to facilitate positive transformation in the lives of young people who are at-risk of involvement in crime and violence and/or victimization,” commented Alicia Glasgow Gentles, Executive Director, MultiCare Youth Foundation. “We look forward to creating holistic and tailored opportunities for youth empowerment that lead to positive change, while bolstering crime and violence prevention and contributing to national efforts to achieve sustainable development."
Executive Director for the Children First Agency, Claudette Richardson-Pious, notes that, “the support from PriceSmart Foundation is greatly needed based on the vulnerabilities of the communities that we serve. Children First Agency's mission will be enhanced through this collaboration by engaging children and parents in activities fostering creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, personal growth, trauma processing, and strengthening familial bonds. Children and parents will have increased knowledge, skills, and capacities, thereby enabling them to flourish despite their current realities.”
We look forward to sharing updates as the programs’ implementation moves forward.
