NATIONAL Education Trust (NET) and Auld’s Academy and Charity Foundation have combined to provide 1,000 primary school children with supplies in preparation for the upcoming academic year,

Under an initiative called Touch a Thousand Hearts, 750 academic care packages and 250 stationery kits have been distributed to students from several schools across the island.

Representatives from the selected schools collected the packages during a distribution event at Meadowbrook High School in St Andrew last Friday.

Among the beneficiary schools are Berry Hill Primary and Infant in St Catherine; Zion Hill Primary in Manchester; Refuge Primary in Trelawny; Wilmington Primary in St Thomas; and Clapham Primary in St Elizabeth.

Founder and director of Auld’s Academy and Charity Foundation Shernett Auld explained that the initiative is an important process for the uplifting of Jamaica’s education sector, and emphasised the importance of more students being adequately equipped with the tools they need for school.

“This initiative is not just about distributing school supplies, it’s about touching the lives of students and providing them with the tools they need to succeed. We are deeply grateful for the support from NET and our sponsors and we look forward to continuing this meaningful work,” Auld told the handover ceremony.

Regional director for the Ministry of Education’s Region One Ottis Brown giving the keynote address at Auld’s Academy and Charity Foundation’s Touch a Thousand Hearts back-to-school distribution exercise held at Meadowbrook High School in St Andrew last Friday. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

She said the Touch a Thousand Hearts initiative represents a significant achievement in the ongoing effort to support education in Jamaica, adding that this process aligns with the foundation’s mandate to enlighten and enhance individuals’ knowledge and skills by offering various courses and workshops, while the charity provides scholarships, grants and school supplies to children.

Director of donor and partnership management at NET Keisha Johnson expressed her enthusiasm for the partnership with Auld’s Academy, saying that it represents a fundamental step in impacting the lives of children whose families may not be able to provide them with the necessary resources.

“Working with Auld’s Academy and Charity Foundation has been an incredible experience. Their dedication to uplifting students aligns perfectly with NET’s mission to enhance educational access and infrastructure across the nation. Together we are making a tangible difference in the lives of our young people,” she said.

Johnson expressed gratitude to Sandals Foundation and VM Foundation for their support, and highlighted the importance of collaboration which, she said, is not only key to the success of this initiative but is an integral part of NET’s contribution to Jamaica’s educational sector.

“Our mandate is to mobilise financial and quality-inclined resources for the education sector, and we do that by working with foundations and the Jamaica Diaspora. And we are able to say to them that, ‘These are the needs in the schools. Can you assist in helping the children? And can you assist in helping the schools succeed as well?’ ” she said.

Director for Ministry of Education’s Region One Ottis Brown, while praising the efforts of the organisations involved, also pointed to the importance of collaboration which, he said, is a key part of the ongoing transformation of Jamaica’s education sector.

“One of the things that makes this academy and charity foundation very special is that it places emphasis on impacting the community and involving the community in what it does. Education is not the responsibility and cannot be the responsibility of the Government alone — all of us in the country have a role to play,” Brown said.

He said that while there have been improvements in the education sector there are still gaps to plug, and the Touch a Thousand Hearts Foundation is one way in which foundations are working together towards improving education in Jamaica.

According to Brown, recent statistics show that literacy stands at 88.7 per cent for adults [and] 91.7 among young people. “These numbers are encouraging but they also highlight that there are gaps that are supposed to be plugged just the same. So, we must take steps to meet the literacy and numeracy needs of all our children, and all our people — and our Jamaica promises to be greater once that can happen,” he said.

NET is a registered charitable organisation and agency of the Ministry of Education and Youth dedicated to mobilising financial and quality resource investments for the education sector.