THERE is hope that Jamaicans will show more financial support for the National Leadership Prayer Breakfast (NLPB) this year as proceeds are expected to assist the event’s newest beneficiary — Students’ Christian Fellowship and Scripture Union (SCFSU).

Chairman of the NLPB Committee Rev Sam McCook, who was speaking at the event’s press briefing on Wednesday, said with a total of $750,000 raised last year, “we are expecting to exceed that.”

“The beneficiary this year has impacted the lives of many leaders in Jamaica. Many persons serving in the judiciary, corporate Jamaica, local and internationally have been shaped as leaders in this organisation which has groups in many schools, colleges and universities,” said McCook.

“The expectation is that this will provide a boost to the initiatives that they have and the affirmation of the work they have been doing for over 70 years,” he added.

The SCFSU is a volunteer movement which focuses on the importance of students’ ministry.

Last year, the Clifton Boys’ Home received an academic boost through proceeds from the event.

At the media briefing, chairman of the board of management at Clifton Boys’ Home Vincent Guthrie explained that the funds assisted with two academic interventions during the Easter and summer holidays in 2022.

He said the first initiative, which was done in partnership with Negril Education and Environment Trust, saw the training of the boys in leadership skills, environmental awareness, civics, public speaking, personal hygiene, Bible knowledge, mathematics, and reading. The second initiative was a summer school programme which focused on improving reading, mathematics, sports, drama, and art and craft.

“The funding also supported a training initiative during the summer for two members of staff. For most homes, the staff that were there were not selected on the basis of the ability to teach, because the students are sent to school normally but we recognised that staff members need to be upskilled and that we really need to provide them with the capacity to help the boys in their learning, hence that focus. They were initiated in basic IT skills that will enable them to help the students,” said Guthrie.

Guthrie said whiteboards and reading material were also purchased for a classroom, and there are plans to replace a library with bookshelves and a small office.

“Your recognition of Clifton Boys’ home as a project, and the ultimate presentation of the funds, is much more to us, than what the money could buy. That said, to us that as beneficiaries, the work of the institution was valued. As a result of the presentation of the Clifton Boys’ Home, other institutions chipped in and helped us. What you did was much more than the money you gave us,” Guthrie said.

The hybrid staging of the 43rd annual NLPB will be held on January 19 under the theme, ‘Strengthening Communities through Peace, Justice and Forgiveness’.