Corporate Ja commends PSOJ COVID-19 Jamaica Response Fund

CORPORATE JAMAICA is expressing much pride and joy after participating in the Private Sector of Jamaica (PSOJ) COVID-19 Jamaica Response Fund, which mobilised $200 million in resources: $131 million in cash and the rest in kind.

The initiative was a collaborative effort among the PSOJ, the Council of Voluntary Social Services (CVSS), American Friends of Jamaica and the United Way of Jamaica.The PSOJ COVID-19 Jamaica Response Fund was an integrated national response to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Jamaica. The fund aimed to mitigate the threats associated with the pandemic by distributing aid to individuals and areas that needed it the most. As a result, 73,000 long-duration food packages were distributed; 10,000 cooked meals, and 60,000 masks were delivered.

The fund had a great impact on the 83,000 beneficiaries and donors and partners were jointly awarded at the RJRGLEANER Honour Awards in July for the coordination and execution.

Caroline Mahfood, executive director of the GraceKennedy Foundation, stated that it was a fantastic experience in rallying the various foundations to meet the goals.

“It was very encouraging to see the various foundations get on board and work together and rally to the cause,” she said.

“We were initially concerned that we were not just giving money for giving sake. We wanted to make sure that we made an impact. As a group, it really felt great to be working together,” said Mahfood, who is also chair of the CVSS’ Foundations Sector.

She also commended the CVSS on its management of the initiative in terms of reporting, updating and promoting what they had done.

Keith Duncan, president of the PSOJ, stated that the initiative demonstrates that much can be accomplished through team work.

“It shows what is possible in Jamaica. It shows that that if we come together as a people, as stakeholders and the only agenda we have is good, we can achieve a lot. When you have that kind of leadership which is pure, and all you want is to do well and do ‘good’ by people, everybody came on board and gave 100 per cent,” he pointed out.

Duncan noted that the distribution of the resources through the fund was data driven in that one of its key partners, the Mona GeoInfomatics Institute, was able to locate vulnerable communities to ensure that limited resources were channelled to those populations.

Gary ‘Butch’ Hendrickson, chair of the CVSS, said that the PSOJ COVID-19 Jamaica Response Fund was a good initiative which brought into focus the need to assist those most vulnerable during the pandemic.

“I want to encourage more initiatives such as this as we are not yet out of the woods with COVID-19. We are not yet back to normal. The Council of Voluntary Social Service might want to take on a greater role especially as it relates to education. I don’t think that it can be argued that the children have not missed a year of school and for many of those kids, it is the most important year of their educational life,” he said.