Supplies4Students delivers textbooks to 19 hurricane-affected students in western Jamaica

WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — For 19 students in western Jamaica, returning to the classroom after Hurricane Melissa has become a little easier, thanks to a student-led initiative that raised almost $400,000 to purchase textbooks tailored to their individual school needs. Supplies4Students Jamaica, created and led by recent St Andrew High School for Girls graduate and Project Star intern Joanna Powers, matched donors directly with students in Savanna-la-Mar and Salt Spring who needed assistance securing books for the new academic year. The initiative was implemented in partnership with Project STAR, whose Social Services team identified the students through its case management programme and helped to deliver the sponsored books directly to them. The 19 beneficiaries, drawn from primary and high schools, are among students in communities that continue to recover from the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa in 2025. For Samantha Fulwood, the donation came at a critical time for her daughter, who lost her schoolbooks during the hurricane. “My daughter lost all her books during Hurricane Melissa, which damaged them. I was overwhelmed when I received the book donation. Her booklist for returning to school in September was over $40,000, and I couldn’t afford it, so I was so grateful that she was getting most of the textbooks,” she said. “The books will help her more in school. When my daughter saw the donation, she was joyful and grateful for the gift,” Fulwood added. Joanna said the idea for Supplies4Students emerged while she was volunteering with Project Star to package food and hygiene supplies for families affected by the hurricane. “I wanted to find a way to directly help students in Jamaica whose education was disrupted by Hurricane Melissa. I felt that helping them get the books they needed was something I could practically do even from outside Jamaica,” she said. While many organisations responded to the disaster with food, clothing and rebuilding assistance, Joanna decided to focus on a more specific need, the textbooks students require to continue their education. She was particularly concerned about students preparing for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), who were being asked to continue their studies while many families were still dealing with the loss of homes, belongings and school supplies. “Getting access to books is especially important after a hurricane because while students are already dealing with so much disruption with the hurricane, not having the materials they need can make returning to school really hard,” she said. “Having access to books gives them one less obstacle to worry about and helps them continue their education.” The initiative was designed to address another challenge: school booklists vary according to grade and school, making general book donations difficult to match students’ actual needs. Through the Supplies4Students platform, donors could see the specific books required by individual students and contribute towards those needs. “The idea for the platform came from wanting to make donating simple while also letting people see exactly what their contribution was going towards,” Joanna explained. “My role was to create the website and help organise the initiative so donors could contribute toward the specific books each student needed.” Project Star’s involvement helped to ensure that the support reached students with identified needs. Joanna approached the programme because of its established presence and ongoing work in communities across western Jamaica. “Supplies4Students is a great example of what can happen when community needs are identified and the right support is matched to those needs,” said Sharise Staines-Appleby, head of programmes at Project Star . “Through our case management approach, we were able to identify students who had lost essential school supplies and were still facing challenges as they returned to the classroom. This initiative provided much-needed support to these students and their families, while giving donors the assurance that their contributions were reaching children with genuine needs," she added. Once the booklists were sponsored, Project STAR helped to get the books into the hands of the students. All 19 students have now received their books, with the packages covering their school booklists either fully or partially. Each child also received a personalised note with their books, adding a personal touch to the donation. For Joanna, seeing the donations move from an idea on a website to actual books in the hands of students made the effort worthwhile. “Seeing the support from contributors, it was really encouraging to see different people willing to support something I created, especially knowing their donations were going towards helping 19 students in Savanna-la-Mar and Salt Spring,” she said. “Seeing the idea turn into actual support for students made all the work feel worthwhile.” Joanna, who is now continuing her education overseas, has volunteered with Project STAR since 2022, assisting with community outreach events, educational initiatives and disaster relief efforts. She hopes the initiative will also encourage other young people to recognise that they do not have to wait until they are older to make a difference.