St Ann Citizen of the Year honour stuns Boreland
Moon Palace Foundation GM lauded by Kiwanis Club of Ocho Rios
Published:Thursday | December 26, 2024 | 12:12 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer
On the back of some excellent work that impacted many people from Ocho Rios and its environs over the past year, general manager of the Moon Palace Foundation, Natalie Boreland, has been chosen as the Kiwanis Club of Ocho Rios’ 2023-2024 Citizen of the Year for St Ann.
The award, which was presented recently by the 58-year-old club, caught Boreland by surprise.
“Actually, I was quite shocked, to say the least,” Boreland admitted in an interview with The Gleaner. “I was a bit taken aback because I don’t think I’m a visible person within the community ... and I try not to promote what we do. But it’s very nice to know that you are recognised for the efforts that you make in the community.”
Through the Moon Palace Foundation, the charity arm of Moon Palace hotel, Boreland and her team have broadened the foundation’s scope to include not just staff at the hotel but persons from wider Jamaica.
“I am able to do so much more through the vehicle of the foundation, and so it is only fitting that kudos be given to the position that I have, which enables me to make the impact that I have because I’ve been given the latitude to impact lives in a greater way,” Boreland said.
The Chapur family, which owns Moon Palace Resorts, heaped praise on Boreland.
Gibran Chapur, executive vice-president, said: “Congratulations! We could be backing the foundation, but the day-to-day work and dedication are done by you! Very well deserved!”
Vice-president of operations Jabib Chapur sent the message: “Congratulations, Natalie! Amazing work!”
Anuar Chapur, vice-president, information technology, said: “Congratulations, Natalie! You deserve it.”
‘Silver lining’
Her immediate boss, Clifton Reader, vice-president of Palace Resorts Jamaica and Turks and Caicos Islands, said: “Huge congratulations. Hard work and your great contribution to community paying off. So very proud of you.”
Reader later told The Gleaner: “Natalie – and the foundation – is that silver lining that binds the hotel together. Without this foundation and the work that Natalie and Talcia (her assistant) put into it, a lot of people would be disenfranchised or even not alive today because the foundation saves lives, our health programme and all of those things that we do, I mean, literally save lives. That’s how important we think the work of the foundation is.”
The foundation has been involved in several health-related programmes, including the support of children with cancer, and several education-related activities.
Over the past year, the foundation started programmes that according to Boreland, are not the usual initiatives that it would undertake. One is an online homework programme that benefits children at the primary level whose parents are staff members.
“So we have a WhatsApp group and then we post the links, and we do homework help with mathematics, integrated studies, English language, and Spanish,” she told The Gleaner.
“We also started an environment programme in association with Jamaica Tours Limited (JTL), who provides the transportation for the students, and with Dolphin Cove, where we bring the children from the main primary schools around the area – Parry Town, Breadnut Hill Exchange, and we’re just now going to include Ocho Rios Primary. They come here, and we go through a whole environment programme with them, and they get to see the dolphins!”
The foundation has also introduced a reading programme to benefit students at grade four, with students at Parry Town and Breadnut Hill Primary schools being the first to benefit.
“So those are programmes that we introduced over the past year that would be more impactful in the community as it relates to children.”
These are in addition to regular initiatives such as the Dreams programme, which provides a complimentary “dream weekend” to children who are terminally ill, along with their families.
The Palace Foundation, under the guidance of Boreland, supported by her team, has also been offering a vast number of benefits over the years to both staff and the general public.
These include scholarships, up to the bachelor’s degree level, PEP grants, annual health fairs, couples retreats, art camps, lactation rooms, and complimentary trips to Disney, among others.