A Charity You Should Know About - The Errol Ross Foundation

Though I grew up in the Church and participated in several outreach programmes, it never really hit home until I moved to Kingston and was brought to tears at seeing children beg for money for food. It was so strange to me to see children, who were supposed to be guarded and cared for by their parents, relying on strangers to help them do something as basic as eating.

That was my first culture shock, but it sunk in quickly because of the grand amount of beggars and less fortunate that walked the streets daily - most of which were children. I had to do something about it, no matter how small it was. I got involved in my first effort with fundraising to give back - the Key Club. From there, I also helped to found and join the first Interact Club for my school ( a high school version of the Rotary Club). My friends and I were really bent on making a difference and inspiring the rest of our schoolmates and other students to get involved, get together and help those who were less fortunate. But then it got better, and in order to complete your programme at school you had to complete a certain amount of hours of community service. This could be as an individual or as part of a group and allowed you to get as creative as you wanted to be.

This mandate, gave me what I needed - a challenge to take things into my own hands, choose what moved me most, do something about it and be held accountable. This mandate, though I have moved on and left high school, continues to drive me to consistently get up and serve those who need our help. So much so that I can't help but be restless knowing that there are persons I can help, even if it is just for a few hours or one day. 

This is one of my passions, and this is why I want to tell you about the Errol Ross Foundation. This is an organization that has at its aim to better the lives of Jamaican people. The target of the Errol Ross Foundation is widespread because they believe that anywhere and anyone that needs help should be helped. I sit on the Executive as the Secretary as well as the Fundraising and Events Chairperson and I try to convince persons to throw their support behind our cause. We are young and still finding our feet but we haven't let that stop us. The Errol Ross Foundation has organized a Biology Bursary for male students performing at a commendable level to take care of CSEC Biology examination fees, organized teams for the Annual Sigma Run, is in the process of arranging for donations in kind to the Holy Innocents Missionaries for the Poor who care for infants and pregnant mothers; and will provide school supplies for children at the Mulvina White Basic School. There are several more projects the Foundation has planned and we need all the support we can get.

Check out the Errol Ross Foundation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter or you can email at errolrossfoundation@gmail.com to see how you can get involved or how we can help you. Any suggestions and/or questions are welcomed!

Thank you for reading this. I am really passionate about what we are doing and I really believe that we can and will make a difference in the lives of others if we adopt a spirit of service and compassion. Spread the word, we can make a difference!

Till later,
Jane