By Glenda Anderson,
Freelance Writer
GLADSTONE YOUNG was the man who had seen too much of the bad times. Tragedy after tragedy struck leaving him a single parent with three children who desperately needed special attention which he was unable to afford.
"When my first child, Camille, was two weeks old she was diagnosed with a problem which caused fluid to collect in her head and had to have an operation on her spine, later they found out that something was also wrong with her legs. She kept getting worse until she was permanently disabled."
This was to be the first sign of trouble as later his wife died, leaving him with eight-year-old twins Tariano and Tamara.
Tariano was later diagnosed with a learning disability and had to receive special help from the Mico Care Centre. The daily strain of caring for two disabled children plus an active young daughter sent him into regular fits of depression and had him nursing a stomach ulcer.
Then, like angels out of nowhere the members of the Grace and Staff Community Development Foundation came to his assistance and today Tamara is on a three-year scholarship programme with Benedict University in South Carolina.
Lavish in his praises, Gladstone recalls the well-needed relief he got from the Foundation. "I was so frustrated and someone sent me to Mrs. Madden (the manager at the time). She decided to help me by paying Tamara's school fee all through primary school, and high school until she went away on the scholarship... They are a wonderful set of people."
Lloyd Richards, former Grace employee remembers the Foundation as a Grace Kennedy staff initiative begun in 1979 with the intention of sharing the concerns of the less fortunate in society. "It was a desire to create opportunities for others in society, to share in people's lives and not merely to do it from an office but to get to where the people are in order to help them, in effect touching their sores."
Literally started from pocket change, staff members originally volunteered to give $1 of their salaries towards local outreach programmes. The figure has now increased to $20 and a further amount matched 2 to 1 by the company.
With this as its objective, the Foundation designed four main areas of support: education, health, micro-credit and community development projects like Christmas treats and Labour Day programmes. Working with the Salvation Army, the Foundation has sponsored a day care and basic school, as well as a geriatric clinic in Rae Town, Kingston. Spreading its help to entire families the micro-credit project was set up to help even the parents of the students who were being assisted. The unit boasts an in-house psychologist, facilities for parent counselling and parenting sessions once per month, University of the West Indies social workers on internship, Mico College student teachers, and employee volunteers.
Through its education unit appropriately called L.I.C.K (Learning Institution of Central Kingston) the foundation has assisted students to get a firmer grasp on their future. Taking the task to new heights the Foundation in 1979 started a programme of getting US college representatives here to interview and recruit inner-city children for colleges and universities overseas. Although it has a corporate base, recruitment is open to students everywhere as long as they meet the requirements and if they achieve a 1200 SAT score.
Jacquie Jones manager of the Foundation, says she's elated by the immense success of the programme. The recruitment initially started with one college, the Benedict College, but has now attracted five others -- Shawer University, South Carolina State University, Livingstone College, Bethune-Cookman College and St. Augustine College.
"On our last recruitment drive we had 1,400 students in three different locations, Mandeville, Kingston and Ocho Rios and it was so good that one college plans to come back in May," says Mrs. Jones.
In the three-year history of the recruitment programme, 35 students have been placed in overseas colleges on full and partial scholarships. This year between 75 and 125 needy are expected to benefit.
