JAMAICA IS to benefit from about US$40,000 (approximately J$2.5million) raised during the American Friends of Jamaica (AFC)'s first fundraising gala last month.
The money will go to Jamaican health, education, and other non-profit organisations.
The fund-raising gala was attended by about 230 guests at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, South Florida, USA, on June 25.
Colin Channer, prize-winning novelist, founder of the Calabash Literary Festival, and the evening's emcee, called it "history in the making."
AFJ's President, retired U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica Glen Holden, who had flown in from his home in California, said the event "could not have gone better."
SUPPORT FOR CHARITY
He said it had brought the AFJ, a 23-year-old New York-based charity, a whole new level of support in South Florida.
"The vision was simple," said Barron Channer, who co-chaired the gala along with Mark Morais. "We wanted to galvanize the community and give back at the same time."
The event brought together Jamaicans and Americans in South Florida, as well as a number of guests from Jamaica itself, to highlight the island's needs and raise funds to meet them.
The gala dinner honoured Monsignor Richard Albert and South Florida-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. with the AFJ's International Humanitarian Award for their contributions to Jamaica and its people.
The event also brought out a host of officials, diplomats and business people interested in the Caribbean. Previous AFJ honorees include Ralph and Ricky Lauren, Jamaican-born billionaire and philanthropist Michael Lee Chin, and other notables.
