$1.2m raised for Ja Society for the Blind from sporting clays charity tournament

Danzell Knight, the man behind the You Can Do Anything charity sporting clays tournament, was thrilled to have contributed to the Jamaica Society for the Blind after the tournament, which was held in May at the Jamaica Skeet Club, raised $1.2 million for the organisation.

Knight said that the charity event was repeated in 2019 to benefit the society because he wanted to do more for the hard-working persons who contribute to helping blind persons to achieve more.

“Honestly, I didn’t feel I did as much or collected as much as I could in the first year. I took into account that many of the sponsors were going to be sceptical of who we were giving the money to. Based on the success last year, this year kind of paved the road for many new sponsors and people that wanted to show interest. So I feel successful not that I have raised much more, but that I have also raised awareness to the Society for the Blind and to the sport of skeet shooting,” said Knight.

Conrad Harris, the executive director of the Jamaica Society for the Blind, welcomed the funds.

“The funds that were raised were significant ... , so yes, we are extremely happy. We are very pleased. Both the clients and staff have benefited significantly from the donation,” Harris said.

The funds will be used to cover the cost for several blind persons to attend English and math classes and sit exams at the CXC CSEC level, as well as to construct a multipurpose outdoor space that will be used to create and complete craft projects, stage various events, conduct training sessions and for dining purposes from time to time.

The tournament itself, which was held in May, was won by Roman Tavares-Finson, with Wendy McMaster taking the ladies’ title.