Friends raise $2.7 millions for hurricane relief; AFJ matches this amount
KINGSTON, Jamaica—A coalition of compassionate individuals and businesses, in collaboration with TheHiveCareers, has raised $2.7 million to support urgent hurricane relief efforts across Jamaica.
The American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ) will match the funds raised, doubling the total relief to approximately $5.4 million.
As part of this collaboration, TheHiveCareers will make its digital platform and talent network available to AFJ, enabling a coordinated, technology-driven response to mobilise skilled volunteers, contractors, and essential services for communities affected by the recent hurricane.
“This initiative shows what’s possible when technology meets compassion,” said Melarka Williams, founder and CEO of TheHiveCareers.
“We are proud to stand with AFJ and the many friends who came together to raise these funds and volunteer their time. Together, we’re ensuring that help gets to the people who need it most, when they need it most,” added Williams.
The initial $2.7 million raised will go toward emergency relief supplies, including food, clean water, temporary shelter, and restoration materials. AFJ’s matching contribution will expand the reach of the initiative, doubling the available resources and deepening the impact across affected parishes.
TheHiveCareers platform will serve as a national coordination hub, providing registration and deployment of skilled volunteers and contractors, matching of requests for help with available resources, real-time dashboards for transparency and reporting, communication channels for communities and relief partners.
According to Caron Chung, executive director of the AFJ explains that, “The American friends of Jamaica began fundraising for Hurricane Melissa immediately when the hurricane was threatening to hit Jamaica. Our board of directors committed US$1 million in funding toward Hurricane Melissa to be used as a match.
“Within the first week, we met the match and we were at US$2.5 million. There’s no way we can stop fundraising. Most of those communities, those districts, those towns, those villages, will never rebuild without aid. Schools are flattened, houses are flattened, churches are flattened, communities are totally destroyed. So without aid, they will not be able to restore, to recover and restore.”
