On Sunday, June 19, children of various ages and statures proudly sporting RuJohn Foundation tees and backpacks stormed the Jamaica Pegasus’ lobby. Some did their best at behaving but others couldn’t help but let everyone know just how much fun they were set to have and just how excited they already were. And who wouldn’t be excited to get an entire afternoon (in a fancy hotel nonetheless) to interact with professionals in careers and industries in which you are interested?

Of note was that there was a healthy male:female ratio – a particularly nice sight to behold on Fathers Day in a nation where positive male mentorship and involvement appear to be lacking. Mentors (or coaches as their RuJohn shirts suggested) included actors Lance Gross, Dulé Hill and Jussie Smollett, actresses Gabrielle Dennis and Jazmyn Simon, YouTuber Iman Crosson and veteran producer and song writer Jason Boyd.

(teenAGE writer Jodi Bell with Dulé Hill)

The RuJohn Foundation began in 2003 in honour of Ruth and John Tulloch, the grandparents of CEO Andrew Bachelor and President Christina Bachelor. To commemorate their grandparents’ memory, Andrew and Christina started the RuJohn Foundation – a clever blend of both their grandparents’ names – to put in practice values of kindness and charity that their grandparents instilled in them. What started out as small efforts, soon grew to build lasting partnerships between American and Jamaican nationals and organisations in service of youth. Today, RuJohn Foundation offers scholarships to TEENs and young adults and encourages young people of all ages to pursue their dreams and interests even their unconventional ones by hosting camps and workshops and putting its scholars in touch with some of the leading names in drama, music and sports.Back To Back Obama spoof) was the resolute belief that one must create their own opportunities. Actresses Jazmyn Simon (Julie on Ballers) and Gabrielle Dennis (Janay from The Game) were adamant that none of them were L.A. babies born with silver spoons in their mouths but that once you have purpose and couple it with perseverance your L.A. dreams will pay off just as theirs did.https://www.rujohnfoundation.com) to learn more.

The Foundation’s camp coaches are all volunteers who had either heard of the foundation and sought out a way to be involved or are acquainted with RuJohn’s heads and were gracious enough to lend a helping hand. Previous scholars and other beneficiaries give of their precious time to assist because they’ve been taught the value of giving back and as one young man put it, RuJohn Foundation helped him find direction and he’d just like to help someone else find theirs too.

There was a flurry of activity on Sunday afternoon. There were candid talks and discussions aimed at scholars entering university in the coming school year which provided helpful information to parents and scholars alike about GPAs, scholarships and making the best decisions.

On the ‘lighter’ side industry mavens took time out to listen to, and offer sound advice to singing, writing, acting and directing hopefuls. They freely shared stories, discussed struggles related to show business and encouraged everyone there to pursue their dream.

Songwriter and producer Jason ‘Poo Bear’ Boyd (one of the geniuses behind a host of Bieber hits) recalled having to defend his career choice to a family member by telling him that producing and writing songs is indeed a ‘real job’, and in so doing he urged the roomful of enraptured young people to walk in their choice and embrace it. Another golden nugget he shared was, “that’s the way you become great in life – by being honest with yourself”.

In an adjoined room delighted squeals could be heard as no doubt one of the actors had wowed the crowd with their flair for the dramatic. The common thread with actors Jussie Smollett (Jamal from Empire),  Dulé Hill (Gus from Psych), Lance Gross (you may know him from different Tyler Perry projects) and YouTuber Iman Crosson (he goes by Alphacat or just the guy with the really sick Obama impressions and the

They urged their room of youngsters to do at least 10 creative things each day and to use social media and the internet purposefully to market their craft and pick up new tips along the way. All the coaches encouraged their turnouts to go all in, put fear aside and immerse themselves in their interests.

If you are interested in the RuJohn Foundation, its scholarships or camp programmes you may visit their website (