Derrick A. Scott, Gleaner Writer
ATLANTA, Georgia:
THE GROWING Jamaican community in Atlanta, with a population of close to 40,000, has given birth to yet another Jamaican organisation, the Benevolent Mission of Atlanta, Inc. (BMA). With this new body, the community in Atlanta now has about twenty Jamaican-based organisations.
President Dr. Conrad Ingram said the mission of the five-month-old organisation is to harness and leverage the time, talent and resources of its members and contributors to meet the educational and financial needs of, and offer inspiration and hope to disadvantaged, disenfranchised and at-risk children throughout Jamaica and the United States.
Dr. Ingram said the main objectives of BMA are:
* To coordinate financial and logistical assistance efforts for helping non-profit organisations in Jamaica and the U.S.
* To provide scholarships, mentoring and other financial assistance to deserving children.
*
To engage in innovative and effective fund-raising activities.
ADDRESSING VARIOUS NEEDS IN JAMAICA
The impetus for BMA, he said, emerged from the common recognition by several Jamaicans residing in Atlanta who believe that though there are several Atlanta-based Jamaican organisations engaged in significant outreach activities to address various needs in Jamaica, there exists an urgent need for a concerted and focused effort to reach as many disadvantaged children as possible across the country on an ongoing and sustainable basis.
Members of the board of directors of the BMA include:
First vice-president Segeda Ranjeet; treasurer Patrick Hector; assistant treasurer Beverly Vassell; Secretary Jo-Ann McNish; directors, Bishop Yvonne Bostic, Everett McNish, Gail Dunwell and Yana Lee-Fong Cooke. Appointed to serve on an advisory board are: Vin Martin, Jamaica's Honorary Consul in Atlanta; Dr. Beverly Hall, superintendent for Atlanta Public School System; Jewel Scott, District Attorney for Clayton County and Lisa Hanna, former Miss World.
