swim for shenica

As some of you might know, my sister, Jess, is using her gifts to invest a lot of time and energy into improving the lives of children who reside in a deaf center in Jamaica. She recently got back from a week long trip to this center and felt compelled to send out this letter to friends and family and clients in hopes that they would assist her in supporting one girl in particular, Shenica.

I've personally witnessed her working hard and exuding energy in the pool...all for one reason...Shenica. Please read the letter and consider how you can support this awesome endeavor!



Hey Everyone! 07 April 2007

Just a quick note to say thank you for your interest and enthusiasm as I went to Montego Bay, Jamaica to work with the Caribbean Christian Center for the Deaf (CCCD) a few weeks ago. As I may have told you before, Jamaica has one of the highest populations of deaf people per capita, and this school exists to provide deaf children with an education and opportunities they otherwise would never have. It is a difficult economy to find a job on the island, even for those who are able-hearing. To have a hearing disability makes it next to impossible for the deaf to be treated with dignity and have any positive outlook for the future. The Montego Bay campus of CCCD was founded in 1994 and exists largely in part due to donations and work teams who come down to volunteer at the school, both through their financial support and physical service work on the 7½ acre campus.

My first trip to CCCD was in 2001 and, returning over the years, especially this time, blew my mind with how much the campus has evolved. It was so exciting to see the building changes, improvements and functioning classrooms – not to mention the precious faces of children I first met six years ago. Two of the children that especially left impressions were a 10-yr old boy named Clifton and an 11-yr old girl named Shenicia - I’ve attached some pictures to give you a glimpse of my week there.

CCCD currently has about 52 students and is a residential school, as many of the children come from areas all around the island. As wonderful as it is that they have this place to go to, it is also disheartening to know that many of them do not see their parents on a regular basis and don’t have the adult interactions and mere attention all children crave and need. Having teams like ours come down and work on-site allows them to have these role models to give them attention and play and love on them, even if it is for just a week at a time. They are crazy and fun and rambunctious like any other kids, and have a sweet love in their eyes that can’t help but catch your attention. Their smiles alone will melt you! When asked what their goals are for the future, many say they want to simply speak and hear. When I think about how the opportunities available to them in a lifetime are nothing compared to what I experience in one day, it breaks my heart. This is why it is so vital for them to receive love and support from outside sources, so they can learn to communicate through sign language and even through some verbal speaking, have clothes, food, books, up-to-date education, hobbies that can lead to careers, and medical care to supply items like hearing aids.

A Sponsorship Program is in place that allows a simple donation of $25/month to go towards providing a child with the tools they need - to receive these things (which are really very basic to us) can literally be life-changing for them.

I’ve committed to sponsoring at least 1 child personally (Clifton) and would love to have 1 other child (Shenicia – see next page) sponsored through the efforts of my friends and the Valeo Personal Training gang…aka you guys. What I am envisioning is deeming the month of April be a Swim for Shenicia kind of month. What I’m looking for is a handful of people to challenge me, keep me accountable and prod me on (for some of you, this is what you’ve always dreamed of – getting to tell ME what to do!!)  and who are willing to donate 5 cents per lap (down/back = 1) swam in the month of April. For those of you who know me, you know my heart is more tuned to short sprint distances, so you don’t need to worry about any kind of mega Ironman mileage or anything!  I’d love to receive your response (please don’t feel obligated, as this is just an opportunity I want to share with you…) by the end of the week so I can start tallying laps and funds. My goal is to raise enough money to sponsor Shenicia at CCCD for at least one year.

Anybody in?....

Jess
PS – If anyone is interested in sponsoring a child on their own ($25/month), please let me know; this is an awesome chance to directly change the route of a child’s future.