US$10,000 for Hurricane Relief Effort

President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill, Lowell Hawthorne, presented Consul-General, Dr. Basil K. Bryan with a cheque for US$10,000 on September 14, to help in the relief effort for Hurricane Dean which damaged sections of the island on August 19.
The donation represents proceeds from a radiothon organized by Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery, in conjunction with the Jamaican Consulate General and two major Caribbean radio entities on September 8. The 12-hour event was supported by Irie Jam Radio and LinkUp Media, two of the Tri-State area’s most popular Caribbean stations.
The radiothon raised US$5,000, and in keeping with an earlier promise, Mr. Hawthorne matched the full amount, bringing the total to US$10,000.
Handing over the cheque to Dr. Bryan at the offices of the Jamaican Consulate in Manhattan, Mr. Hawthorne thanked the many Jamaicans and friends of Jamaica who gave generously to the cause, noting that, “as Jamaicans, we can do great things when we come together”.
In accepting the cheque, Dr. Bryan said that the effort showed that, “we have a community that cares.” He commended Golden Krust for initiating the project, as well as for bringing together the two big players in the radio business.
Dr. Bryan said that the funds would be sent immediately to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), to be used in the relief effort.
Both Programme Managers, Robert ‘Bobby’ Clarke of Irie Jam Radio and David ‘Squeeze’ Annakie of Link Up Media, who were on hand for the presentation, said that donating the air time for the radiothon was their way of supporting the cause and the larger community. One highlight of the radiothon was the special performance of the Jamaica Military Band.