Community senior hosts yearly treat for children, the needy
SCORES OF children from the quiet farming community of Seven Corners in St Elizabeth got a head start to the new school term recently with a treat put on by a community elder who just can’t stop giving.
Seventy-six-year-old Phyllis Dunkley, popularly known as ‘Miss Blossom’, has been hosting the kiddies bash for the past 36 years and says she has no plans to stop any time soon. It was a kindly gesture that simply mushroomed.
“I started in 1987, the year before (Hurricane) Gilbert … I was saying to a cousin that I would love to be able to do something , anything, to help the children in the community . And he said to me, ‘just do a little treat for them. Like how you run the shop, you can start with that’. He said I could even ask some of my suppliers to help with donations, and so that’s what I did.”
The donations were small but backed up by proceeds from the small shop she operated in the community alongside her husband Herbert, a farmer, and gifts from family members and friends, the initiative got started.
Among those she tapped was former councillor Hugh Dawes, who she says immediately made a financial contribution, then a wholesale owner in Southfield and the operator of another grocery store in the nearby town of Santa Cruz.
The bubbly, though no-nonsense senior says she was simply moved by a deep love for her community, and a desire to help the less fortunate – especially the children.
Every December the children gather in her front yard for snacks, toys and school supplies which include notebooks, pens, pencils, scientific calculators and even tablets. This year the event saw over 200 children lining up for the goodies.
A Christian and matriarchal figure in her local church, activities at the treat include a quiz on stories from the Bible, with extra prizes for participation. “So, you’ll find that some children leave with more than one gift because they are able to win other little prizes this way,” she explains. The parents, too, are not left out as some needy families also receive donations of food supplies and other necessities. I try to give a little something to everyone who comes, but we try to help the needy, not the greedy,” she quips seen up to three generations – children then, who are adults now.
Aldain Reid remembers the treat as a big thing for youngsters then. “We use to look forward to it.” Some who, like him, have now matured into young adults, still appreciate Miss Blossom’s kindness and attention. “I use to go to the treats, and I’m in my 30s now, and it’s still going on. It’s a really good thing she’s doing for the community.”
SPECIAL COMMENDATION
Miss Blossom migrated to the US in 1995 but would continue her philanthropy using her weekly pay earned as a domestic worker and doing odd jobs there. She says she devised a strategy so that she could have something to share when she made her yearly trips home.
‘I didn’t have the money to buy everything one time so I would shop at garage sales, dollar stores, Walmart, Shop Smart. Then I would send them in my personal stuff.” One year she racked up four barrels, one crate (8 x4) and five stove boxes.
Today, her outreach includes sending care packages to residents at the Santa Cruz infirmary, where she regularly donates canned food, clothing and personal supplies, especially diapers. There are also elders in her church community, and shut-ins, who benefit from her kindness.
In October 2018, she received special commendation from the Leeds Community Development Committee, for ‘outstanding contribution for community building’.
She says her yearly challenge, though, is convincing officials at the Jamaica Customs that the goods are not all for her. Last year a particularly intense search left her ego bruised.
“She (the immigration officer) took out (even) my wallet and my cards – and cut my (duty free) allowance in half. I said to her ‘why are you cutting my allowance and you didn’t even go into my suitcases?’ All she said to me was – ‘Watch what they going to do to you over Customs’.
Still she says there is no ill will, as officials have always respected her efforts, and treated her kindly.
The couple has six children, and are grandparents to 16.
Miss Blossom believes that while her strength will not allow her to continue indefinitely, her legacy will live on.
“I just feel to continue until I can’t go anymore.” She says her children have assured her that they will keep the treat and outreach going. “They tell me, ‘just keep going when you stop we will take it up’.”