Monthly Archives: June 2023

The Jamaica Combined Cadet Force is now celebrating the transformation of their multipurpose resource centre courtesy of members of staff of The Jamaica National Group who, on Labour Day, painted the building, and planted shade and fruit trees to enhance the facility.

Warrant Officer Dale Maitland of the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force, in expressing his gratitude to the team, said the completion of the facility would not have been possible without the assistance of the JN Foundation, The Jamaica National Group volunteers, and other partners.

“It is a dream and vision that is being completed today. I am so glad that The Jamaica National Group is onboard to fulfil this dream. Thank you to the team and thank you for being here,” he said.

Claudine Allen, general manager of the JN Foundation, led 40 enthusiastic volunteers from The Jamaica National Group to undertake this impactful Labour Day project. She described the experience as an awesome exercise for the volunteers and said that The Jamaica National Group was excited to have undertaken the project.

“It was work that was fulfilling and enlightening for us because the role that uniformed groups like the cadets play and can play in Jamaica is very important. It is our hope to support you in the work that you are doing and get more young people involved so that we can have better outcomes generally,” she said.

Omar Wright, lead for Environment and Community Development Programmes at the JN Foundation said the project was undertaken because The JN Foundation is centred on enriching lives and building communities and, therefore, the Foundation did not hesitate to get on board to support the uniformed group. He emphasised that youth and education are priority areas for the JN Foundation.

“We thought that we would not only sponsor the initiative, but we would also mobilise our members of staff to come out and engage in a day of service and give back to the community because we believe in empowering our youth,” he added.

For the volunteers who were on hand to assist with the project, it was a fulfilling day of service. Brittany McFarlane, remote customer service representative, at Total Credit Services, a member company of The Jamaica National Group expressed her satisfaction, saying, “It feels good. It is nice to give back to the community specifically the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force, it was a really fulfilling day,”.

Teshena Johnson, customer service representative at JN General Insurance said that it was a productive day for her and that it was good to give back to the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force.

“I felt excited to have been involved in such worthy cause because that will benefit young persons,” she said.

Dwayne Brown, executive, Cyber Security at The Jamaica National Group said he was glad to be among the volunteers to contribute to the project.

“Labour Day is a time for everyone to come together and contribute to projects that will benefit our country. I always look forward to Labour Day, so if I’m not doing something in my community, I always try to reach out and try to do things in other communities because I think giving back is important,” he said.

The newly refurbished resource centre, recently renamed the Lt. Colonel Edgar Williams Fuller Building in an unveiling ceremony in tribute to the Lt Colonel’s dedicated service to the Jamaica Combine Cadet Force, will serve as a space for training of the cadets. It will be equipped with computers and internet to assist the cadets with their educational work. Additionally, the centre will also be used for mentorship training, continuing Lt. Colonel Edgar Williams’s legacy of nurturing young individuals into model citizen with exceptional leadership qualities.

Lt. Colonel Edgar Williams served as Commanding Officer of the Independent Cadet Unit for more than 25 years, devoting his time in the training and development of youngsters to mould them into model citizens who display exemplary leadership qualities.

The month of May, although celebrated as Child Month, is also often a stressful time for many children, particularly those who sit exams during this period.

Against that background, it’s perhaps, therefore, apt that May is also observed as Mental Health Awareness Month to bring awareness to various stressors and the need for people to carefully manage life’s challenges- even children.

Jhanille Brooks, licenced associate counselling psychologist, says, given the realities of life, practising mindfulness can help relieve stress and health-related illnesses, especially for students.

“The whole concept of mindfulness speaks fully to being engaged and immersed in a moment and in the presence. Not too much in the past and not so much in the future. It means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and surrounding environment,” explained Brooks.

She gave the advice as a guest on the JN Foundation’s Parent and Child Empowerment Seminar, which was held recently for JN scholars and their parents.

Citing some benefits of the therapy, she said this includes helping one to stay focused. It can also help to improve physical health, to treat heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve sleep, and alleviate gastrointestinal difficulties. She said mindfulness also helps to treat mental health problems especially those associated with anxiety and depression.

The counselling psychologist said stress can manifest itself in different forms, such as frequent stomach upsets, headaches, muscle tension, trouble sleeping, feeling tired all the time, feeling burnout and being impatient or irritable.

Ms Brooks advised students who attended the session that it is important to develop a self-care plan, which can be useful to address issues of stress before examinations. This plan she said entailed reconnecting with a spiritual source, exercise and doing physical activity, and feeding one’s mind with positivity and humour.

“Unhealthy junk food all the time is not ideal, having a healthy diet is better. Spending quality time alone is also important. The meditation that we spoke about and staying positive and having a sense of humour are also important,” she said.

She informed that there are free apps that can assist with relaxation, such as Headspace, Aura, Breethe and Calm.

“There are many apps out there, so find one that works for you. It is best to have it on your smart phone so when you feel stressed in a moment you can plug in your headphone and listen to the app, which will help to keep you calm,” she said.

The seminar was the first of several sessions being organised by the JN Foundation. Parris Lyew-Ayee, chairman of the JN Foundation, said the sessions are aimed at empowering both parents and scholars.

“This session has been specifically designed so that you can take away educational information, but also so that you can acquire life skills and specific aptitudes, such as developing a financial mind-set, ways to set and achieve your goals, and skills to manage stress,” he said.

The more than 50 students who were in attendance were also exposed to goal setting strategies and techniques and financial literacy with a focus on money management.

In support of the National Tree Planting initiative, The Jamaica National Group has distributed 700 seedlings to its members. The mixture of fruit and ornamental tree seedlings were distributed as part of a pre-Labour Day activity across five of its branches island-wide, recently.

Kimberly Gardner, marketing relations officer of The JN Group Marking Department said the distribution was in support of this year’s national Labour Day theme, ‘Plant a Tree for Life, Promoting Climate Change Mitigation, Food Security and Road Safety’.

“We did a similar initiative last year and this year was a continuation of that promise to support the national thrust to plant three million trees, which is being spearheaded by the Forestry Department,” she explained.

“It also coincides with our own initiative to ensure that the environment is one that is safe and that there is sustainability by ensuring that we plant as many trees as we can,” she said.

Mrs Gardner said the initiative forms part of the JN Group’s Environmental Sustainability Programme, which is being done through the JN Foundation. The programme is geared at supporting environmental awareness practices in Jamaica by focusing on key areas, such as deforestation, waste management, water conservation and energy efficiency.

The marketing relations officer disclosed that fruit and ornamental trees were distributed to its members at JN Bank branches in Portmore and Spanish Town in St Catherine; Half Way Tree in St. Andrew; May Pen in Clarendon and the JN General Insurance office on King Street in downtown, Kingston.

Mrs Gardner informed that an agronomist from the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) was on site at the Half Way Tree location informing customers about how to care for the plants they were gifted.

“What we have found is that there are numerous tree planting activities each year but not a lot of support in terms of plant care. So, we thought that having an agronomist on site to share information with our customers would be beneficial,” she said.

The agronomist also gave tips on how to create a backyard garden and how to manage the different plants that were distributed.

JN members who received the trees commended the financial institution for executing the initiative. “This initiative undertaken by The Jamaica National Group is good. Everybody should be planting as this is good for the environment,” said Gareth Fairweather, a JN member.

Mrs Gardner said the initiative will be sustained.

“We look forward to executing more initiatives like these as we emphasise the importance of tree planting and supporting a healthy environment,” she stated.