Joey Issa – Giving a Helping Hand The latter part of July saw gifts in kind and cash amounting to several thousand dollars donated as assistance to various institutions. Over US$20,000 (J$110,000) were donated to two associations and J$19,000 to other local institutions. The first cheque for US$12,530 (J$68,750) was by far the largest sum donated over this period to the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association by the Bahamas Hotel Association recently. This donation and others from Caribbean Hotel Association, the St. Kitts & Nevis Hotel Association and the Grenada Hotel Association were to help meet the cost of Jamaica’s recovery from hurricane Gilbert. The Jamaica Association for the Deaf were the recipients of the larger sum of the two in the amount of US$8,000 (J$44,000) donated to them by the National Foundation of Jamaica (NDF/J). These funds are part of an NDF/J project sponsored by the Pan American Development Foundation to assist various organizations in their hurricane restoration programs. Cultural sponsorship got a boost as a cheque for $5,000 was presented to The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission recently at their office on Phoenix Avenue office on July 20, 1989. Gift items accounted for a large portion of the donations over this period also as an AST 286 computer costing $14,000 was donated to the Burnt Unit of the University Hospital to assist with the
storage of data there. APTEC, the donators, underwrote 50% of the cost of the equipment thereby facilitating the unit’s acquisition. Another post Gilbert gist was donated to the University of the West Indies in the form of over 2,000 frames of the original architectural drawings for the then University College of the West Indies and the University Hospital. A British firm, Norman & Dawbarn, architects, consulting engineers and town planners made the donations to the Pro Vice-Chancellor. Professor Gerald Lalor. The donation will also allow the UWI’s Maintenance Services Department to rebuild its drawing data base which was almost totally destroyed by the hurricane. Four schools benefitted from various gifts this time around. They are the Bustamante High School in Lionel Town, Clarendon which received a five by six-foot refrigerator from Courts (Jamaica) Limited, May Pen branch. The St. George’s College received manual labour assistance from the past students residing in North America who visited the island for a two-week stay. They painted two buildings at the North Street-based school and then handled over gifts of a Potters wheel and an Electric Kiln to the school for use in the Art Department. The old boys plan to regularize these good efforts. The RJR/Citizens Advice Bureau Basic School received their donation from the RJR Sports Club to help in the purchase of school furniture for the basic school. Campion College student Lannois Asser Carol-Woolery was the recipient of the Joey Issa Holy Cross/Jamaica Scholarship from a past student of Campion College, Mr.Joey Issa, after whom the scholarship is named.
The secretaries, too, were not to be left our as their Kingston Chapter was presented with a new four drawer filing cabinet by CMP Limited Chairman and Group Managing Director Mr. Winston Mahfood.