Thu | Mar 28, 2024

Trisha Bailey outreach targets single mothers, students

Published:Friday | October 28, 2022 | 12:08 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
Dr Trisha Bailey
Dr Trisha Bailey

Some 270 students of Caribbean descent have been provided with scholarships and/or financial assistance by Dr Trisha Bailey as part of her charitable outreach.

The Jamaica-born entrepreneur’s Bailey-Archie’s Charitable Foundation has largely targeted single mothers seeking to get their lives back on track and children in need of assistance. She has also provided financial assistance to single mothers in Jamaica to start their own businesses.

Dr Bailey has helped people left homeless after a major fire in east Kingston and has refused to specify the businesses she helped financially.

But Dr Bailey said that having lived in depressed, poverty-stricken areas, her goal has always been to work hard and provide for her family, and the less- fortunate.

“As a result I am now able to provide for my community. I strive to donate not just money, but my heart and soul to those who are in need,” her bio read.

With her focus on education, Dr Bailey’s outreach also includes a plan to purchase land in her native St Elizabeth, Jamaica to build a primary school.

A number of the students in both areas have been provided with scholarships to various universities.

One such student is on her way to medical school while one is currently attending Harvard. Another is a student at Princeton while another has graduated from Morehouse and is now studying for his masters’ degree.

She has funded after-school enrichment programme in Orlando, Florida, which cater especially to at-risk children of Caribbean descent. The enrichment programme which runs at Evans High school has so far seen an increase in the school’s graduation figures from 48 per cent four years ago to 98 per cent today.

Seventy-five students have been provided with scholarships from the after-school enrichment programme, and all graduates have gone on to four-year university, to college or to the military.

Under the Future Leaders United outreach charitable initiative, more than 350 students have been impacted by the after-school enrichment and mentoring programme. Ninety-four graduates of the programme have gone on to four-year university or college programmes.

The scope of Dr Bailey’s philanthropy came into focus recently with news of her gift to her alma mater, the University of Connecticut. Her donation was the largest in the school’s history. While the amount has not been disclosed, it is believed to exceed some USD$10 million. The donation was to revive and strengthen the school’s athletic programme.

She is the owner of Bailey’s Medical Equipment and Supplies, as well as the Bailey’s pharmacies.