ICF is a Christ-centered organization, dedicated to changing lives of disadvantaged children of Jamaica by providing them an environment in which they may develop into healthy, educated, moral and self-reliant adults.
Integrity Children’s Fund (ICF), recognized by the IRS as a Tax Exempt 501 ( c) 3 Charitable Organization, was born out of a sincere desire to better meet the educational needs of children in Jamaica, disadvantaged by economic hardship and made hopeless and/or hapless by limited opportunities for self-development.
Background
A lack of basic education contributes to hopelessness in a large number of children within Jamaica. This sense of hopelessness is one of the root causes for children turning to a life of crime and living lives well below their potential.
Providing a Christian based education is one of the most important keys in breaking the cycle of hopelessness, while assisting children to become responsible adults in the Jamaican society.
Evidence of the remarkable changes in the lives of children brought about by a Christian Education is clearly visible in the work of Operation Restoration , a Christian School started by Lorna Stanley. This school has successfully delivered remedial educational programs to children, who for various reasons cannot access public schools in the community they live in.
One of the major hurdles facing schools like Operation Restoration is the lack of funding to sustain their operations. Without adequate funds, qualified teachers cannot be attracted and retained, and basic school materials cannot be acquired. Even when there are schools present in a community , many families are simply unable to afford school supplies, lunch fees or even incidental school fees.
Objectives of Integrity Children’s Fund
* To establish a consistent donor community.
* To provide support for 10,000 children throughout all the parishes of Jamaica, by 2010.
Activities of Integrity Children’s Fund
The activities of ICF, to the benefit of needy children in the nation state of Jamaica, in order of ranked importance by time and resources, are as follows:
a. Student Support
All activity in this realm will be geared toward providing for the physical and material needs of the students of selected schools. This will include furnishing students with meals, uniforms, books and other school supplies, technological aids (inclusive of, but not confined to IT), access to seminars, field trips and travel for the purposes of educational exposure. Student support will make up the bulk of ICF’s focus.
b. Teacher Development
Understanding the major role that teachers play in the welfare and education of our children, and also aware of the significant lack of teaching professionals in many under-funded, inner-city and rurally located schools, ICF will provide direct funding for two aspects of Teacher development. These are:
- Assistance in the payment of teachers’ salaries so as to ensure that the best possible instructors are recruited and retained in the previously selected schools.
- Assistance in the training of such members of staff to more adequately prepare them for participation in the process of educating children. Such assistance may take the form of, but not be limited to, workshops, seminars, courses of study and practicums.
c. Infrastructure Maintenance and Acquisition
This set of activities will be initiated as the third priority once ICF is satisfied that the other two aforementioned areas are being adequately serviced, notwithstanding the importance of the physical plant to the process of learning. Such activities will include repairs and maintenance to school facilities, furnishings and equipment, as well as the assistance in the procurement of land and edifices to advance the cause of education in previously disadvantaged youth.
Contact Information
Mailing Address
Integrity Children’s Fund
PO Box 4402
Alpharetta, GA 30023
(678) 591-7764
Email Address : [email protected]
Website: http://integritychildrensfund.com/
