Falmouth, Trelawny – Proceeds from the recent 10th annual dinner/dance of the William Knibb Alumni Association, Florida Chapter, will be used to repair the school’s library in Falmouth, Trelawny.

Association president Teslyn Takacs said over US$4,000 was expected from the event, which was held at the Inverrary Country Club in Fort Lauderdale. Members, she said, were committed to improving education for the students at the school.

Takacs said the library urgently needed to be repaired – a need that the donated funds would fill.

Jamaica’s Consul General to the Southeast USA Ricardo Allicock, who was the guest speaker at the event, lauded members of the group for their effort to help refurbish their alma mater.

He challenged them to continue “doing something positive for their homeland”, by looking beyond the needs of their school and to the wider community.

Suggesting ways that the association could get involved, Allicock spoke of the efforts of the recent National Diaspora Conference which was organised by the Jamaican Government to strengthen and continue the symbiotic relationship shared between the overseas nationals and Jamaicans at home.

On the hurricane recovery efforts, the Consul General commended the South Florida community for contributing towards rebuilding the nation in the aftermath of the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Ivan.

He noted that while the recovery process continued, there was a lot more to be done, and appealed for more assistance.

William Knibb High School began in 1961 to commemorate the late Reverend William Knibb, one of the founding fathers of the Jamaica Baptist Union. The institution now has an enrollment of nearly 1,000 students.

The South Florida chapter of the Alumni was founded in 1990. Other chapters are established in major cities throughout the USA.