Author Archives: JN Foundation

Jeffrey ‘Agent Sasco’ Campbell addresses JN Scholars at the JN Scholarship Awards Reception held at the JN Bank Half-Way-Tree branch last September.

The JN Foundation is offering 17 five-year scholarships to students who have achieved a minimum placement score of 320 in the 2020 Primary Exit Profile (PEP), to enter high school in September.

Fourteen of the scholarships are allotted to parishes, while three are to the counties.  The student with the highest placement score among the applicants from his or her respective parish will be awarded a scholarship.  Concurrently, the top performing applicant in each county, who is a participant in the JN School Savers’ programme, will also receive a scholarship.  These awards are in addition to the 20, which are allocated to children of employees of The Jamaica National Group.

Parents of eligible students are invited to apply for the scholarship by July 20.  Application forms can be accessed from the JN Foundation website at www.www.jnfoundation.com.

“This scholarship programme has been ongoing for the past 37 years. We are therefore pleased that in this difficult time caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, that we are able to continue this tradition,” disclosed Onyka Barrett Scott, general manager at the JN Foundation.

“We are committed to the education of young Jamaicans. We see these awards as not only an investment in our youth; but, also an investment in the development of our country, as youngsters who are supported in their educational pursuits often move on to make sterling contributions to our country,” Barrett Scott added.

In previous years, the Ministry of Education assisted in identifying the students for the JN scholarships; however, this year and going forward, parents will be requested to apply directly to the JN Foundation for the scholarship. 

Barrett Scott pointed out that, as part of the eligibility for the scholarship, the child or parent is required to be a member, customer, or client of JN Bank, JN Fund Managers, JN General Insurance Company, JN Life Insurance, JN Money Services, JN Small Business Loans or the Jamaica Automobile Association for at least a year. Only biological parents or legal guardians can apply on behalf of a student, if the child is without an active JN Bank account.

Concurrently, more than one hundred JN Foundation scholars, who are at various stages in their five-year scholarship award, will have their scholarship renewed for the new school year. The renewal will be based on their achievement of at least a 70 per cent average at the end of the Easter term. The parents and guardians of the existing scholars should submit their school report to the JN Foundation in the customary manner.

One of the first things persons who have been laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic will need to do is take account of their finances.

“It’s never easy coping with a job loss. In fact, it is regarded as one of lives most traumatic experiences, but the reality is that you can get through it once you can quickly device a survival plan,” says Rose Miller, financial literacy expert who leads the JN Foundation’s BeWi$e financial empowerment programme.

Addressing the JN Bank Redesigning Your 2020 Goals online series recently, she gave this advice on what you should you do if you are laid off without a plan:

1. Determine How You Are Spending Your Money: When times are good, most people do not think about how they spend money.

“We know how much the mortgage or rent, and monthly car payments are, but we don’t pay attention to daily spending. How much is spent on groceries? What about utilities and insurance? What about fast food?” she asked.

The JN Foundation grants manager said persons must strive to be more aware about how they spend their money, as this will force them to spend it more carefully.

2. See Where You Can Cut Back: “If you’re facing a layoff, you need to come up with a plan for cutting expenses. Develop a budget that eliminates most unnecessary expenses. The goal is to cut back on those expenses substantially,” Mrs Miller advised. She said persons should focus on the essentials, mortgage or rent, food, utilities, and their medical needs. All other expenses, including entertainment, fast food and clothes, can be eliminated or significantly slashed.

3. Consolidate your Loans: “If you are already in debt, particularly credit card debt, you may want to consolidate your loans into a single monthly payment with a lower interest rate. If you own a home, consider a low-interest home equity loan,” Mrs Miller said.
4. Take Advantage of Any Payment or Relief Programmes: Keep your ears to the ground, so that you do not miss out on any opportunity for assistance from the government, the church or corporate Jamaica,” Mrs Miller recommended.

Many organisations, including financial institutions, have announced measures through which they will be providing relief or assistance to persons experiencing financial difficulties, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government has also announced relief packages for affected groups and some church organisations have been collecting donations, to assist the most vulnerable.

Mrs Miller said persons in dire need of financial assistance should not be afraid to take advantage of any of these opportunities.

5. Use Your Skills or Talents to Make Money: You will be able to stretch your savings if you have additional income. Consider using your talents to make some money. While it would be best if you could find temporary or part-time work in your field, your hobbies and other interests may offer possibilities for income.

Mrs Miller advised that persons who can sew can take advantage of the increased need for face masks. “Other ways you can take advantage of the opportunities created by the pandemic is to offer a delivery service. If you have a reliable motor car, put it to use by offering to make food and other type of deliveries at a reasonable cost. You can also consider selling ground provisions from the truck of your motor vehicle,” she advised.

She said, for example, that persons with skills in English, mathematics or other subjects can offer online tutoring to students currently out of school.

The JN Foundation continues to be humbled by the opportunity to serve, by finding ways to help countless Jamaicans fulfil their potential. In 2019, the JN Foundation team was pleased to be able to work in partnership with our young people, their communities and with our JN membership to inspire change in small and large ways.

Education

At the JN Foundation, we strongly believe in the role that education can play in uplifting families, communities and the nation at large. Over the course of 2019, we disbursed 264 scholarships, with at least 100 of those who benefitted being identified as residing in volatile and underserved communities.

Increasingly, our young people have been demonstrating a desire to understand ways of generating and managing money. This interest is to be commended. We were able to impart such knowledge to 817 young persons between the ages of 6-17 over the course of 2019. We truly look forward to them not only applying the information shared but also telling a friend or loved one. This is a key and necessary ingredient in generating the economic stability associated with Jamaica’s vision 2030.

Supporting our communities

At the heart of the endeavor to become the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business, is Jamaica’s need to solve and resolve the complex needs of a myriad of communities spread across the island. Here at the JN Foundation, we have elevated two areas that we see as critical to this endeavor – helping to shape a positive identity and addressing the unnecessary loss of life on the nation’s roadways.

In collaboration with the UWI Mona, we have been able to research, document and publish the parish histories of St. Thomas, Portland, Trelawny, St. Mary and St. Catherine. There is so much to learn from our past that can help in our decision-making for a better tomorrow. We continue to encourage community members to avail themselves of this information.

Research commissioned by the JN Foundation in 2017 – the Cost of Care report – revealed the extremely high cost and heavy burden being borne by the country, individual families and communities every time a road traffic crash occurs. This illuminating report has helped to us to further solidify our commitment to addressing road safety issues. During 2019, we continued to keep focus on the “X Marks the Spot School Crosswalk Campaign”, a partnership with UNICEF, designed to ensure our children have safe passage to and from school.

Labour Day 2019

For Labour Day, the JN Foundation partnered with UNICEF, Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment & Sport and Ministry of Labour to deliver the nationwide Labour Day campaign – “Child Safety – It’s You, It’s Me, It’s All Ah We”. What an inspirational moment to see so many communities coalesce around the need to keep our children safe, by electing to re-paint crosswalks in their locales.

2019 also heralded the inauguration of the JN Circles initiative – a network of JN members and customers who, together, are being exposed to opportunities to realize their full potential, and at the same time are jointly finding ways to help their communities.

The JN Foundation was pleased to work alongside the Member Ombudsman to conduct inaugural meetings for the new clubs and share with Circle members, different ways they could deliver impactful interventions in their communities.

Our Partners

It should be evident that all of the Foundation’s work over 2019 simply won’t be possible without our partners – our external donor partners, our sister companies in the JN Group and JN staff members. You make it all possible. We simply won’t want to do this without you.

A very special mention of the JN Foundation team – you persist in spite of the hurdles and are beyond committed to our various communities of interest. Well done, and let’s make 2020 even more memorable and impactful.

Onyka Barrett Scott

General Manager

JN Foundation

Parris Lyew Ayee, CD     

Chairman

Theme: “JN Foundation Will Help You Find A Way”

Over the course of 2019, the JN Foundation, the philanthropic arm of The Jamaica National Group, delivered truly impactful initiatives, each designed to help Jamaicans to find a way. This was achieved through continued commitment to programme delivery under our five key areas of work: skills and personal development, education, health and safety, social empowerment, and the environment.

Our Financial Literacy Project, a flagship initiative of the Foundation, was relentless about engaging and sharing the tools and knowledge on managing finances with countless Jamaicans. A total of 3,179 persons benefitted from 71 financial literacy sessions held across the country. The JN Foundation team is to be commended for their commitment, which has allowed them to engage 23,608 persons since 2014, helping each to understand their finances better.

An ongoing concern for us at the JN Foundation is the number of persons who lose their lives unnecessarily on the nation’s roadways each year. For several years we have dedicated ourselves to raising awareness on good road use habits, to reduce the carnage on the roads. Through our X Marks the Spot road-safety initiative, a partnership with UNICEF and ABERTIS Foundation, more than 5,000 students benefitted from the upgrades completed under the initiative. Further, 15,026 primary school children were better able to keep safe on our roads because of their participation in the Police in Schools Programme.

True to our mission to inspire change across the nation, the JN Foundation partnered with UNICEF and the Ministry of Culture under the national theme, “Road Safety – It’s You, It’s Me, It’s All Ah We”, to support the rehabilitation of crosswalks all over the country. It was good to see communities and individuals across the country get involved.

Each year I am inspired by the young students we assist to complete their high school education, through the JN Foundation’s Annual Scholarship Programme. In 2019, some 264 high achievers were awarded scholarships. A total of 34 students were awarded PEP Scholarships: 14 were parish high performers, 18 were the children of JN members of staff, and two were specially awarded scholars. Eighty-seven recipients were repeating JN Scholars who achieved averages of 70% and over on their high school reports, and 16 university students received a one-year tuition grant.

JN FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS – SEPTEMBER 8, 2019

The JN Foundation was especially pleased to award 26 student scholarships under our new scholarship offering – the Michael Holding Cricket Masters disbursement.

The JN Foundation Parish Histories Project continues in capturing the authentic stories and factual records of each Parish for the people of Jamaica to easily read.

Under the Water Project Jamaica, the JN Foundation pursued a dynamic programme to sensitize and educate Jamaicans to practise diverse water-saving measures at home and to improve their conservation of water with the installation of water-saving devices. This year, we piloted training in rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling for several developers, architects, students, and other interested persons.

Rainwater Harvesting & Grey Water Recycling Training Launch

I commend the outstanding JN Foundation team, led by Onyka Barrett Scott, General Manager, and the dedicated Members of the Board of Directors for being steadfast and committed to ensuring that the JN Foundation delivers on its promise, to “help Jamaicans to achieve their full potential.”

Well done, Team JN Foundation!

Parris A. Lyew-Ayee, CD

Chairman, JN Foundation