AFTER a nationwide call for public nominations earlier this year, Supreme Ventures Foundation (SVF) has announced the five finalists selected for the 2026 staging of its flagship Supreme Heroes programme.

Representing a diverse cross section of micro business owners who support community development across Jamaica, the shortlisted finalists are:

• Veneish Wallace (Wilmington, St Thomas), a nurse and founder of Eliza Care, which provides professional home-based health-care services alongside free clinical care for medically vulnerable and elderly residents.

• Kymara Elliott (Parade Gardens, Kingston), a grade 4 teacher and founder of Green Care Training & Workshops, delivering environmental education and youth development programmes within inner-city communities.

• Akeem Brown (Greenwich Town, Kingston), founder of Greenwich Town Youths in Action, leading peace-building initiatives, sports programmes, and workforce readiness activities aimed at disrupting cycles of violence.

• Jovan Miller (Portmore, St Catherine), a creative technologist and founder of PolyCloud Interactive, focused on developing culturally relevant educational animations and interactive digital experiences for Jamaican children.

• Daniela Woodbine (Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland), founder of Chapter to Chapter Tutoring Services, offering structured academic support, adult literacy programmes, and community-based relief initiatives.

Since its launch in 2019, the Supreme Heroes programme has remained a cornerstone of the foundation’s mission to drive sustainable social impact by investing in grass roots initiatives and micro-enterprises that are actively transforming communities across Jamaica.

“The Supreme Heroes programme sits at the very heart of what the foundation represents,” said Chloleen Daley-Muschett, assistant vice-president, public relations and corporate affairs at Supreme Ventures Limited.

“Our mandate is to sustainably support the people of Jamaica, and that begins with empowering the individuals who are already creating meaningful change in their communities, often with very limited resources. Through this programme, we are proud to equip these leaders with the resources, training, and financial support needed to expand their impact and reach,” added Daley-Muschett.

During the official launch, the foundation highlighted the programme’s continued collaboration with implementation partner Changemakers, while long-standing partner, the Mona Entrepreneurial and Commercialisation Centre (MECC), outlined the comprehensive business development and capacity-building framework that each finalist will undergo.

The event also underscored the deeply personal and often challenging realities faced by these micro entrepreneurs who endeavour into philanthropy.

In a particularly moving moment, Elliott shared her journey of sustaining her initiative for over five years without external support, providing free environmental workshops to underserved youth in Parade Gardens.

Elliott revealed that she had recently considered discontinuing the programme due to limited resources. Visibly emotional, she expressed that receiving both financial support and essential technology, including a new laptop, was transformative and “beyond words”.

As part of the programme, each finalist will receive a grant of $500,000 to implement a targeted community project over the coming months and a new laptop to support the execution and growth of their initiatives and facilitate their participation in the training with the MEEC.

Upon completion of the training programme and project phase, the finalists will be evaluated by both a panel of judges and the Jamaican public. One standout participant will ultimately be named the 2026 Supreme Hero and awarded an additional $1.5-million grant to further scale their impact.

The 2025 Supreme Hero was Tishauna Mullings, chief social innovator at NexxStepp Lifelong Educational Services.

Daniela Woodbine (left), founder of Chapter to Chapter Tutoring Services, receives a new laptop courtesy of the Supreme Ventures Foundation from Celeshia Edwards, marketing coordinator at Supreme Ventures Limited. The presentation took place during the Supreme Community Heroes launch recently.

Akeem Brown, a dedicated workforce development advocate from Greenwich Town, enjoys the festivities at the Supreme Community Heroes launch. 

Celebrating a well-deserved recognition, Veneish Wallace, founder of Eliza Care, claps with joy during the Supreme Community Heroes launch.