Class of ‘85 gifts JC with tech devices
Published:Monday | February 8, 2021 | 12:16 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
Jamaica College (JC) was gifted with technological gadgets, including laptop computers, tablets and flash drives, by a group of 1985 graduates.
The handover of 10 laptops and 20 flash drives, valued at over half a million dollars, was done at the Old Hope Road institution on Friday.
“JC laid the foundation for us to be the successful men we are today. We want the present boys to be given the opportunity to be as successful or more successful than we are,” said Paul Lettman.
He said a tragedy led to the creation of a Whatsapp group of the 1985 JC graduates and, from there on, they have taken it as their civic duty to give back to the premier all-boys school that has poured so much into them.
Friday’s donation was the second by the group, which had donated water bottles to the full complement of the track team three years ago.
The group intends to do more and told The Gleaner that several plans are in the pipeline.
“Today, I am very very happy and proud to say this is a little donation in the context of JC ... you know they say JC is a money school. So, in the context of JC, it is small, but we think that it will go a little way in helping the boys to further their studies, and we hope that it will help them to be successful. So while it is not a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) lab, we are happy to donate these laptops today,” Lettman said.
ASSISTANCE RIGHT ON TIME
For Acting Principal Wayne Robinson, the assistance to needy students could not have come at a better time, because students are currently using the facilities at school as a result of challenges they face at home.
Robinson told the old boys that they were not giving back, but giving forward.
“We are always going to have to cater for the boys who are in need, and this (pandemic) has shown and widened the divide between those who have and those who have not. We have to close that, so thanks again ‘85”, Robinson said in accepting the devices.
He also used the opportunity to appeal to other graduating classes to follow in the footsteps of group ‘85.
“All JC old boys, we need you to step up to the plate. The school has suffered a serious setback by the fact that all our income streams have dried up. The auditorium, the field and all those areas that we usually got income from, they are not generating any income now. That money has dried up, so we are asking for your continuous help,” Robinson said.
Meanwhile, the JC Old Boys Association also handed over a cheque to the school principal, as part of their commitment to assist in paying for exams for needy students.