LIME Jamaica yesterday donated $700,000 to Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) to cover the total cost of the organisation's fund-raising Christmas card production.

LIME said yesterday that the donation will incorporate the printing of 50,000 greeting cards as well as 4,000 promotional flyers for the organisation.

"This assistance comes at a crisis time in the life of our organisation when we have been faced with the reality of closing our doors. LIME's contribution will fully the production cost of the Christmas cards and the proceeds from this initiative, we anticipate, will be able to cover an adequate portion of YOU's expenses," said Georgia W Lewis Scott, YOU executive director.

For more than 21 years, Youth Opportunities Unlimited has been serving Jamaican youth, parents, teachers, and communities, promoting growth through various mentorship and training programmes Lewis Scott highlighted.

Claudette Chin, management consultant and YOU director, pointed out that the programmes of the organisation has assisted with developing life skills and business acumen for several thousand young persons.

"We are very pleased that LIME has come on board at this time and we are also appealing to other members of corporate Jamaica to assist in keeping the largest mentoring organisation of this kind in the region open," Chin added.

"We are honoured to be able to assist Youth Opportunities Unlimited which continues to pioneer mentorship in Jamaica despite their many challenges," said Errol Miller, chairman of the LIME Jamaica Foundation. "This also reinforces our commitment to assisting with the development of young people across the region," Miller continued.

Youth Opportunities Unlimited has, over the years, been operating on funding sourced from local and international organisations. However, it was recently forced to end its National Violence Prevention Programme, due to the discontinuation of support from its major sponsor.

Proceeds from the YOU Christmas cards will be used to supplement the organisation's administrative overhead costs.

The organisation has conducted its programmes in 30 primary and secondary schools as well as 15 communities.