Providing opportunities

LURLINE CUMMINGS began working at GraceKennedy Limited in 1992, as Corporate Librarian. Now, as the Information Specialist, she is responsible for managing the information resources of the company, which include the Information Services and Corporate Memory archives.

As a Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation volunteer and mentor, Cummings taught English for over a decade at the Learning Institute of Central Kingston.

“It is an opportunity to give back. It has been very rewarding when you see students move on to their tertiary studies. It’s a good feeling when they pop in from time to time, and I get to find out how they are doing,” she said.

According to Cummings, the children are very vulnerable when they join the programme and the volunteers gradually build a relationship of trust with them. “Some of the students relate to you as a mother afterwards,” she said.

Without Grace & Staff, Cummings said it would have been far worse for many of the children. She has been a mentor to three individuals, all from early secondary to tertiary level.

“The relationships are fulfilling when you see the progress that they have made. When you see where they are coming from, and you take them from that point and see the change in them, it motivates you to continue working with them,” she said.

Twenty-one-year-old SashaLee Morton is a mentee of Cummings, and through her guidance, the Grace &Staff beneficiary is now a practical nurse at a pre-school in Kingston.

“Our relationship is very good, and I can rely on her to talk with me about anything, and she gives me great advice. She is one of the main reasons that I have this job, and she continues to encourage me to succeed,” Sasha-Lee said.

Both Lurline and SashaLee are pleased that Grace &Staff continues to provide opportunities for many young persons in the under-served communities that surround GraceKennedy’s operations. They believe that this investment will continue to change and positively impact the lives of generations to come.