Hurricane
Relief Fund Established at New York Consulate
NEW YORK (JIS) Friday, September 17, 2004
A Hurricane Ivan Relief Fund has been established at the Jamaica
Consulate in New York to assist Jamaicans affected by Hurricane
Ivan, which hit the island on the weekend.
This establishment of the fund came after a meeting with Consul
General, Basil Bryan and Governor of the State of New York, George
Pataki on September 10. The meeting was also attended by officials
from the Empire State Development Corporation, the Office of the
Mayor of New York and Consul Generals from other Caribbean territories
After the meeting, Governor Pataki called a press conference announcing
the creation of the fund, which was extensively covered in the media.
A special meeting involving community leaders, government officials
and members of the clergy in the tristate area was also held at
the Consulate on September 15 to focus on a viable community response
to Jamaicans in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan.
According to Dr. Bryan, "the community's response to the current
recovery programme will have tremendous impact on those who have
been most adversely affected and will advance the work of all the
agencies involved in the reconstruction effort."
So far, the Consulate General has received a comprehensive list
of needs from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency
Management (ODPEM), which has been sent to Governor Pataki and distributed
to the Jamaican community.
In the meantime, donations to the relief fund have been coming
in and the Consulate is awaiting permission from the Mayor of New
York, Michael Bloomberg, to designate the fire stations in New York
as drop off/collection points.
Donations can also be mailed to the Consulate General of Jamaica
at:
767 Third Avenue, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10017.
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