THE Desnoes & Geddes (D&G) Foundation furthered its work to promote development in vulnerable communities through a continued partnership with the Jones Town/Craig Town Benevolent Society.

As part of the partnership the D&G Foundation provided a cash sponsorship to facilitate a graduation ceremony for the society’s recently concluded USAID-funded ‘Heart in Hands’ skills training programme.

“The D&G Foundation continues to extend their support in times of need, and we could not be more appreciative. We have faced numerous financial challenges as we journeyed to successfully complete our ‘Heart in Hands’ skills training sessions and host a graduation ceremony to acknowledge and reward the participants for their hard work and success.

“Thankfully, the foundation stepped in at the right time to offer us a cash sponsorship of $100,000 and a donation of 100 thumb drives,” expressed Jones Town Benevolent Society Executive Director Itan Henry.

In August 2022, the Jones Town/Craig Town Benevolent Society entered the D&G Foundation’s ‘6 for 60’ community development initiative to fund its community projects.

Although the organisation did not win one of the $1-million grants, the D&G Foundation donated $160,000 to assist with the establishment of a “safe space” where community members could gather to learn and play. The donation was used to help restore a dilapidated amphitheatre in the community to be used for training sessions.

“We had set out to host a four-month-long training session for young people within our community to gain personal development skills. This included computer training, conflict resolution, and future goal planning. Given our resources, we had initially planned to cater to 40 participants, but with a large renovated safe space to gather, we could accommodate 116 persons. We are now rewarding all our participants who have completed the programme and plan to host more learning sessions,” Henry said.

In partnership with USAID, the Jones Town Benevolent Society diligently works toward developing its community in more ways than one.

Society members host numerous training sessions to support at-risk youth in their growth and development; organise civic engagement training sessions; organise voluntary programmes to give back to the elderly; and carry out beach clean-ups.

“We greatly admire all they continue to achieve here in Jones Town. It brings us great joy to boost these impactful community programmes where meaningful change is happening, and that’s at the core of our mission — to enrich lives and impact communities,” said D&G Foundation accountant Dennis Beckford.

“We look forward to continuing our partnership with the society by facilitating HEART/NSTA Trust certification programmes when their team is ready,” added Beckford.