Christina Espeut, a PTA mom at Meadow Elementary School, and her family take an annual trip to Jamaica. Due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa in October, Espeut had to break the news to her children that their family trip was canceled this year.
“Mommy, how can we help?” Caelyn Espeut, 10, a fifth-grader at Meadow Elementary, asked through tears. She insisted that her mother email Meadow Elementary Principal Yolanda Martin, as well as the school’s Parent Teacher Association, to set up a relief initiative for the people affected by the hurricane. Everyone was on board, and they got started.
One potential problem residents faced as they began planning was out-of-pocket costs and international shipping fees. But Espeut had a plan. Her aunt owns ACM Shipping International, a company that ships overseas, so she reached out to her and asked if she was willing to help.
“Without a doubt,” Espeut recalled her aunt saying. “Whatever you all need to help with this relief, we’re happy to step in.”
Once people saw the flier Espeut made, the donations came pouring in. “People were texting me that lived in Baldwin, parents, even people in different boroughs, just like, ‘Hey, can I send you Amazon stuff? I heard about this initiative,’” she said. “It was a complete success.”
Donations were collected not only at the school and at Espeut’s home in Baldwin, but also at Gala Fresh Supermarket on Nov. 22.
“They made signs, they made fliers, they were at Gala handing them out, letting people know that they were collecting things that were in need,” Meadow PTA Co-president Sophea Sainsurin recounted. The students had collected money in donations, and then purchased items at Gala Fresh for the relief effort.
To ensure that the donations would find their way to the communities and people in need, Espeut researched foundations in Jamaica, and ultimately decided to partner with the Save Our Boys and Girls Foundation, a foundation run by Juliet Holness, the wife of Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
“I think the route of just asking people, ‘Hey, can I ship this to you and you hand it out?’ is not safe because of how desperate people are in Jamaica right now, so it’s best to go with a foundation where they have security and make sure you’re safe,” Espeut said. “Based on the age group of Meadow and the children that were really concerned, I wanted to go with a foundation that would help boys and girls their age.”
Through the relief effort, students learned about civic engagement, and about the ways in which they can help not only their local community in times of need, but communities in other parts of the world as well.
“The world is kind of crazy right now,” Espeut said, “but it reminded me, and gave me such warmth to know, that there’s still people in this world that care, there’s still gratitude, there’s still people that want to show up for the less fortunate.” Seeing a schoolchildren, along with their parents, put together bags and boxes to mail out to Jamaica, a place her family holds near to their hearts, took her breath away, she added.
The effort to help rebuild Jamaica is still in its early stages. Asked about other ways in which people can continue to help the initiative Meadow started, Sainsurin said, “We have to continue to help support them, and the other countries that were affected by this, because the devastation in Jamaica right now is beyond a one-time effort.”
Espeut echoed that sentiment. “Continuing to give to the school,” she said. “I’m happy to do pickups or have things shipped to my home. Make sure that we continue to give.”
