Caring During COVID: 50,000 Persons Benefit from LASCO Partnership

On June 9, 2020, an online Zoom Forum entitled, “Caring through COVID,” brought together 11 out of 33 organizations that have partnered with the LASCO Chin Foundation in providing more than 14,000 Care Packages to needy families across Jamaica. The Honorable Lascelles Chin, Founder and Executive Chairman of the LASCO Affiliated Companies and Chairman of the LASCO Chin Foundation (LCF), thanked the Partners for their collective efforts that have touched the lives of about 50,000 persons over the past 3 months. He told them that: “you have demonstrated to Jamaica and the world that YOU CARE.”

The Foundation’s CEO, Prof Rosalea Hamilton, referenced the African Proverb – “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” – to highlight the approach taken by the Chairman in responding to the pandemic. She noted that while Chairman, Lascelles Chin, the consummate philanthropist, responded quickly to the crisis by providing immediate assistance, the collaboration with several Partners enabled the LCF to increase the scale of assistance and to do so on a sustainable basis. She described the collaborative effort simply as “an awesome expression of caring for others.”

The Partners who participated in the Zoom forum were: Tanikie McClarthy Allen, CEO, JWN Foundation; Heidi Clarke, Executive Director, Sandals Foundation; Carolyn McDonald Riley, Director, Tourism Linkages Network, Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF); Joanna Simpson, Programme Manager, Operation Save Jamaica (OSJ); Lesley-Ann Samuel, President, UJAA; Carla Myrie, President, JAAHS; Rhona Dunwell, President, AJAA, Toronto; Sherie Davis, Care Package Coordinator, Jamaica Diaspora Taskforce Action Network (JDTAN); Sandrina Davis, Country Director, International Samaritan, Jamaica; Abby-Gale Clarke, Director (Actg.), Community Liaison Branch, Bureau of Gender Affairs (BGA); and Senator Floyd Morris, Former President of the Senate. A few beneficiaries also participated expressing appreciation on behalf of others: Mrs. Karol Stubbs-Jameison, President, Kingston Craft Market Association; Lionel “Tommy” Thomas, Majesty Gardens; Karlene Forrester, Jamaica Red Cross, Portland.