MEDIA RELEASE - FOOD FOR THE POOR & SALVATION ARMY CONTINUE CHRISTMAS TRADITION

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FOOD FOR THE POOR & SALVATION ARMY CONTINUE CHRISTMAS TRADITION


Over 2000 Feted During Annual Christmas Treat

Kingston, Jamaica – December 16, 2013: It has been a joyful and memorable holiday season for 2000 of the country’s indigent, elderly and homeless individuals, thanks to Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica, in partnership with the Salvation Army.

Both charities once again joined forces to reach out to the most vulnerable within the society through the annual Christmas Treat, which was held on Thursday, December 12 at Emmet Park in Kingston.

Drawn from various communities primarily in Kingston and St. Andrew, the beneficiaries, included street people served daily through the Salvation Army feeding programme. They were treated last Thursday to a hot meal, lively entertainment and gift packages consisting of basic food items and toiletries.

“Food For The Poor’s mission and vision is to reach out to those who are materially poor and to renew the poor in spirit. This annual Christmas treat is just one way in which we execute this mission,” said Mrs. Jacqueline Johnson, Executive Director, FFP Jamaica. “It gives us great joy to partner with the Salvation Army and other volunteers to demonstrate to the less fortunate that we do care about their well-being not just at Christmas but throughout the year. We also recognize that this gesture takes on added significance especially during this festive season,” she added.

Mrs. Johnson also pointed out that FFP has been collaborating with the Salvation Army for over twenty years to provide daily meals for the homeless in Kingston through their street-feeding programme. She said that the charity continues to supply a number of schools and community groups across the island with food items, enabling them to provide hot, nutritious meals for the needy.

“This year, in our Christmas Treat for street people and the indigent, we increased our target to 2000 because we wanted to reach out to as many persons as possible especially during this season of giving,” Mrs. Johnson added. Several volunteers came on board this year to assist with the day’s proceedings. They included Jamaica College, St. Georges College, Red Stripe, Kingston College, Wisynco, Scotiabank and Tank-Weld.

The beneficiaries had many words of commendation for Food For The Poor. An elderly homeless man remarked, “ I glad to get this food and gift from Food For The Poor, may God continue to bless them.”

Sixty-three year old Velma Smith, unemployed resident of Seaview Gardens, echoed similar sentiments: “I appreciate every thing very much and I thank them for doing this for us. The gift package was the best part for me. The food was also very delicious. I get fish and curry goat because I don’t eat chicken and that made me feel very special.”


Each year, during the month of December, Food For The Poor supports and organizes a number of Christmas Treats across the island for Children’s Homes, the elderly and the homeless.

The Charity kicked things off last Monday, December 9, when eleven elderly residents were treated from the Christian Care Nursing Home in Kingston while over 185 residents and 30 caregivers from clusters D, B and G were feted at the Golden Age Home on December 11.

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Food For The Poor (FFP)-Jamaica is the largest charity organization in the country. Food For The Poor Inc., located in Florida, USA, was named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the United States. It is an interdenominational Christian agency that does much more than feed the millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. FFP provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 95% of all donations going directly to programmes that help the poor. For more information visit our Web site at www.foodforthepoorja.com
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Contact:
Erica James-King, PROComm, T: 926-6740 or 564-5277
Petri-Ann Henry, Food For The Poor, T: 984-5005 or 564-2886