St. James Chapter of LMAJ Attains Charitable Status

The St. James Chapter of the Lay Magistrates Association of Jamaica (LMAJ) has attained charitable status.

The organisation has been serving communities across the parish for nearly four decades.

Charitable status means that the entity is involved in activities that are solely charity-related.

Nothing that it does benefits any board member or private individual.

The objectives are aligned to charitable objectives such as helping the less fortunate, helping students in need, and helping the poor.

Achievement of charitable status comes during a significant year for the national organisation, which is celebrating 40 years of volunteer service to the island with the theme ‘Decades of Dedication: A Legacy of Excellence’.

President of the St. James Chapter, Suzette Ramdanie-Linton, said the chapter has undertaken a wide array of initiatives over the past 38 years.

Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank, held at the agency’s Montego Bay Regional office on June 10, she said that the activities extend far beyond the entity’s well-known annual ‘Marching Band Explosion’, which is slated for Sunday, July 6, at 4:00 p.m., at the Catherine Hall Multipurpose Complex in St. James.

“We do devotional exercises at schools, mentor students, do school-feeding programmes, and participate in scholarships where every year we give scholarships and bursaries to students who are in need,” Mrs. Ramdanie-Linton outlined.

She added that to effectively manage these activities across St. James, the parish is divided into eight zones that are each led by a zone leader who coordinates volunteer and outreach efforts among the resident Justices of the Peace (JPs).

Mrs. Ramdanie-Linton explained that these zone-based activities include participation in national events, like Labour Day projects, collaborations with institutions, such as the St. James Parish Library, and strong support for the local police force.

Moreover, the chapter also undertakes practical community support like school donations, painting projects and runs a major annual back-to-school programme every August.

“For me as President, my passion is children. In everything I do, I really love to focus on children. The children are our future. So, everything that we do, we have to focus on who is coming up behind us,” Mrs. Ramdanie-Linton said.

“They’re more susceptible to what we would call illegal activities, criminality, violence, crime and peer pressure. So, it’s very important for us to engage our young people and to let them know that there are people who care about them [and] want to see them succeed in life,” she added.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary, the St. James Chapter is incorporating the milestone into its signature event, the annual Marching Band Explosion.

Eleven marching bands from across Jamaica are set to perform, with each band delivering a 15-minute performance. As part of the programme, each band will also be required to play the Jamaica Olympic Association’s Olympic anthem.

The family-oriented event offers affordable entertainment, with adult tickets priced at $2,000; children, $1,000, and VIP, $6,000. Schools selling tickets will receive $200 from each ticket sold.