YEA delivers 180 back-to-school packages in Spring Village

The initiative was led by the Youth Education Association (YEA) and Youth Education Jamaica (YEJ) with the support of sponsors Best Dressed Chicken, Reggae Jammin and other partners including the St Catherine Health Department and Old Harbour Optical, both offering free medical and eye care respectively on the day.

This is the second staging of the annual event with this year seeing the organisers taking its outreach to the Institute of Vocational and Professional Training (IVPT), in Spring Village and Nonsuch, Portland, the latter scheduled for August 27. The event, which is the first of YEA’s 2022 back-to-school treat, was established to provide some much-needed supplies to students from the Spring Village community and its surrounding environs.

Founder and Executive Director, Tahje Wallen, says “this year’s staging of the back-to- school treats is a great success thus far at our first stop in Spring Village, St. Catherine. We look forward to even greater success at the second stop in Nonsuch, Portland on Saturday, August 27, 2022. Lastly, thanks to our sponsors for their support.”

Institute of Vocational and Professional Training, Executive Chairman, Randy Finnikin, says “it is great that the YEA team has chosen Spring Village to host their back-to-school treat” and has praised YEA’s projects, noting that “the IVPT is thankful for the partnership with YEA. This is just the beginning of a long-standing partnership with both organizations.”

The recipients were all grateful for the donation as the world economy teeters on the brink of a global recession brought on by high energy prices, and disruption in trade stemming from the post-coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. As a result this has seen a rise in inflation with basic items such as back-to-school stuffs doubling in prices over the last few months.

In addition to the back-to-school treats, YEA serves as a vehicle for youth participation and involvement in other ways including volunteering, career development, workshops, and seminars.

The YEA is a registered charity organisation under the tagline Youths are the living beings for Today, Tomorrow and the Future and aims to improve the youth of the nation through youth empowerment and personal development by providing educational services, equipment, workshop, and other forms of assistance to students across Jamaican and the Caribbean.