Selma Williams is a serial volunteer
Published:Saturday | November 12, 2022 | 12:07 AMKeisha Hill/Senior Gleaner Writer
Selma Williams loves helping people. Her mother and her relatives taught her always to be kind to others. The human resource practitioner with over 20 years of experience in administration has done just that by giving back to her community through volunteerism.
“I feel a sense of satisfaction and the joy I see on people’s face when you help them. It also lifts your spirit, and you feel a sense of connectedness,” Williams said.
She is very active in her community, serving on the Citizens Association, where they host several activities for the community, including children’s and Christmas treats. As a young lady, she also read The Gleaner to the elderly at the Ralph Grant Nursing Home and provided moral support to them.
At the Lincoln Early Childhood Education Centre, Williams is actively involved in hosting back-to-school and Christmas treats and Labour Day projects.
“It was Maya Angelou who said people will forget what you said or did. However, they will never forget how you made them feel. I guess it is my nature to motivate others by making them feel a sense of love and joy. I find it a sense of achievement to visit the elderly in my community and read the newspaper or have a small conversation on current events or any topics they want to share,” Williams said.
Williams also represents the Jamaica Association of Administrative Professionals (JAAP), which is organised to elevate the standards of administrative professionals in Jamaica and maintain a high standard of proficiency and integrity among its members.
“Over 100 persons have benefited from the association’s intervention through continuing education. Persons have assisted through donations and sponsorships. The association receives donations when seminars/workshops are being conducted,” Williams said. She said some of the projects undertaken through the coronavirus pandemic included assisting a young schoolboy in obtaining a tablet to help with his school work. The organisation also provided items of clothing to the Vineyard Town Golden Age Home and eyeglasses to the Foundation for International Self-Help Development.
JAAP is funded through fundraising activities. The members, she said, pay an annual fee. “A portion of the annual dues goes towards a sponsored child at the SOS Children’s Village,” Williams said.