Trotta charity raises funds for Jamaican youngsters
Books4Kids Jamaica, the charity founded by timeshare industry veteran Bob Trotta, has raised more than US $100,000 to buy books and educational materials for Kindergarten children across the country.
Trotta founded The Palmyra Foundation in 2007, and the charity has actively pursued its mission to improve and enhance the literacy level of Jamaican kindergarten children ever since.
The latest funds for the early childhood education initiative were raised through its 5th Annual Online Charity Auction – which totalled $88,000 – and more than US$12,000 in monetary contributions.
Bob Trotta chats to sponsor Kathy Dear while watching online bids come in
Books4Kids Jamaica chairperson Ragni Trotta said: “We are extremely touched by the support we have received from our friends in the local and international travel and hospitality industry, which is reflected in this year’s incredible results.”
This year, the charity tempted bidders from nine countries with more than 100 auction items including airline tickets, luxury cruises, golf experiences, restaurant meals, electronics, luxury items and hotel stays all over the world.
Helping out
William Craig, chairman and CEO of Billy Craig Insurance, programme sponsor since the initiative’s beginning, said: “I just love supporting Books4Kids Jamaica and knowing that every dollar I spend in the auction goes towards buying books for school children every year, year after year.”
Glenn Lawrence, CEO of Couples Resorts, ran away with this year’s most coveted auction item; a 12-day All-inclusive Cruise for Two with the Holland America Line to the Destination of Choice. Lawrence, winning bidder of the cruise and several other items, said: “The auction provided an excellent range of prizes for good value all around. The real time auction platform gave you a pretty interactive approach to the bidding process and the overall experience was first class.”
The charity celebrated the last hours of the 2016 fundraising effort with a Charity Auction Party at Usain Bolt’s Track & Records in Kingston with radio host Heather ‘Brown Sugar’ Grant rallying the crowds to engage in the bidding.
Ragni Trotta with radio host Heather Grant, aka ‘Brown Sugar’, at Usain Bolt’s Tracks and Records in Kingston
With 12 Kingston schools among last year’s distribution list of 90 schools island-wide, Books4Kids Jamaica hopes to expand its book distributions in the inner city areas of Kingston and add two more parishes to this year’s distribution.
Ragni Trotta added: “While our primary goal is to raise enough funds to continue supporting the 90 schools and 8,600 children that currently form part of our programme, the success of this year’s fundraising effort will allow us to help even more children this year.
“Helping kindergarten children get the tools they need to learn to read and write is a clearly a cause that resonates with many and we wish to thank everyone who made cash donations or contributed to the auction by donating auction items, participating in the bidding or helping us spread the word.”
