Jamaicans
in Atlanta Respond to Hurricane Relief Effort
ATLANTA Friday, September 17, 2004
The Jamaican Community in Atlanta held an emergency town hall
meeting on Sept.11 to discuss their response to the island's recovery
and reconstruction effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan.
The meeting, which was held at the Hillside Presbyterian Church
in Decatur, Georgia was convened by Honorary Consul Vin Martin,
and was attended by over 100 concerned nationals and friends of
Jamaica.
Also present were representatives of the media including the Atlanta
Journal Constitution, Atlanta's major daily newspaper.
Mr. Martin brought the gathering up to date on the conditions in
Jamaica and outlined the relief effort to be undertaken. He said
that over the next several days, a number of fundraising activities
would be held and urged the community to give full support to the
activities.
He mentioned that a number of Jamaican communities in the Diaspora
had joined the relief effort, mentioning the launch to the Hurricane
Relief Fund by the New York and Miami consulates in conjunction
with the Embassy in Washington.
The Atlanta Jamaican Association, through its interim Chairman,
Derrick Wright, launched the Atlanta fund with a contribution of
US$500. Several members of the audience also made donations.
Subsequent to the meeting, several organizations, headed by United
for Jamaica, established relationships with many business leaders,
who agreed to have collection points at their business places.
Mr. Martin, who was sought for interviews by all the major media
houses in Atlanta, including ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX 5 and CNN, said
he was overwhelmed by the attention being given to the situation
in Jamaica by these media houses.
He stated that two of the major mainstream radio stations in Atlanta,
V-103.3 FM and Kiss 104.1 FM, had expressed a desire to aid in the
relief drive by reaching out to their millions of listeners.
Additionally a telethon is being arranged by Caribbean radio personalities
in Atlanta, including Glenn Simmonds and Lloyd Roberts of station
WCLK 91.9 FM, and Jason Walker, Paul Abrahams and LaSimba of WRFG
89.3 FM.
There are also plans for the staging of major fundraising shows
with proceeds to go towards the relief effort.
Meanwhile, the Honorary Consul's office has been inundated with
calls from well-wishers, eager to assist in whatever ways they can.
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