Hundreds of children in Waterhouse, St Andrew were yesterday given a start for back-to-school with school bags, books and learning materials courtesy of Olympian and Digicel brand ambassador Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

The charitable event was special for Fraser-Pryce who would not normally be on the island at this time given her athletics schedule.

“It has been my dream to do a back-to-school activity for the community but my competitive schedule has never allowed me to be here at this time of the year. However, because of COVID-19, I am in Jamaica,” Shelly-Ann told a crowd of excited children and their parents.

“We have had an overwhelming amount of requests for help coming into my foundation. So, although we normally focus on high school students, thanks to Digicel, we can provide book vouchers that I know will go a long way for the families at this time,” she added.

The event was put on by her Pocket Rocket Foundation, the Digicel Foundation, and other partners at the Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (SFP) Resource Centre in the community of Waterhouse where she was born and raised.

The centre, now a staple in the community for homework assistance and skills training, benefitted from of a $5.7-million upgrade from the Digicel Foundation in 2018.

In welcoming the continued partnership, CEO of the Digicel Foundation Charmaine Daniels revealed that the organisation had contributed $250,000 worth of book vouchers towards the effort.

“The Pocket Rocket Foundation does so much to benefit young people in the Waterhouse community, so we were delighted to support this back-to-school initiative by providing book vouchers,” she said.