The lives of wards at the Maxfield Park Children’s Home in St Andrew are to be brightened come Labour Day, following a donation by JN Bank to complete finishing touches to their dormitories.

The bank’s Youth Banking Unit made a monetary donation to the institution recently in observance of Child Month, which a grateful Nellisa Asphall, assistant manager of the home, says will be used to paint the children’s rooms.

The rooms recently benefited from a mild refurbishing exercise. The donation of $100,000 is timely, she pointed out, as the facility has not been painted in 10 years.

“I am very excited. It will go a far way in the plans that we are trying to have done for Child Month and beyond. We are trying to renovate the space as much as possible, starting off with our four units [dormitories],” she explained how the bank’s donation will be used.

The home, which was founded in 1918, currently houses 45 children.

Asphall noted that the dormitories were recently installed with new cabinets and piping. The next step is to have them painted and enhanced with a mural. She said that the auditorium also needs renovation, and they will also be doing work to improve the facility on Labour Day.

“The money will be used specifically for painting the units over the Labour Day period. We are getting the JDF to come and do the painting for us so the funds will be used to buy the paint,” she informed.

Assistant manager-operations and onboarding, JN Bank Youth Banking Unit, Alecia Clarke, says the core mission of JN is to enrich lives and build communities and addressing the needs of children is an important aspect of this cause.

“We have had an ongoing partnership with Maxfield Park Children’s Home and have onboarded a few of their wards by opening bank accounts for them through our JN School Savers’ Programme, but it’s more than about providing them with financial access at an early age. We are making every effort to contribute to their well-being and comfort, not only during Child Month, but right throughout the year,” she said.

Clarke added that through the JN Bank Youth Banking Unit and their philanthropic arm, the JN Foundation, efforts are made to consistently provide children with opportunities that will aid in their development.

“We have programmes in place to assist them in developing thrift and money management skills, as well as to earn scholarships, while, at the same time, we seek to affect their educational outcomes through targeted projects and programmes that enhance teaching and learning, especially in rural schools, as well as provide them with life skills, such as road safety skills, so that they are empowered to navigate our dangerous roads,” she stated.

Asphall said that they welcome other donations to the home in the form of cash, kind or clothes.

“We always need food items and clothing and items for them, such as books, textbooks, pens
and pencils,” she said.