Atlanta-based charity honours community servants at fundraiser

ATLANTA, Georgia:

Two Jamaicans have been recognised for their contributions to community development and service by Atlanta-based charitable organisation Jamaicans Caring for Jamaicans (JCJ), as the group raised funds to support its dental missions to Jamaica.

Dr Christopher Parker, research associate professor and director of Population and Global Health at the Georgia Health Policy Center at Georgia State University, and Dr Yvonne Smith Blake, CEO of the Montego Bay-Atlanta Cities Committee, received JCJ’s Contribution to the Culture Award.

The awards were presented at JCJ’s annual All Schools Jamm fundraiser at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis on October 10. Staged under the theme ‘Disco Inferno’, the event attracted patrons dressed in colourful Afro-inspired outfits and retro fashions reminiscent of the 1970s.

With music provided by DJs Migraine and Gaddafi, guests danced into the early hours, while Jamaican singer Gem Myers delivered a command performance.

The ‘Party with a Purpose’ event raises funds for JCJ’s annual dental missions, which provide oral healthcare to under-served communities across Jamaica.

Jamaica’s honorary consul to Atlanta, Dr Elaine Bryan, congratulated the organisation on its longstanding commitment to helping less-fortunate Jamaicans, saying its dental outreach programme was providing much-needed services to people who might otherwise struggle to access professional care.

In accepting her award, Dr Smith Blake said she was grateful for the recognition and encouraged the group to continue serving others.

She said that while many people associated her work with medical missions, service also included providing access to food, shelter, education and opportunities for people to live with dignity.

“True service is not measured by what we say, but by what we are willing to do,” she said, emphasising that the real value of service lay in lives touched and burdens lifted rather than public recognition.

Dr Parker also expressed gratitude for the recognition and stressed the importance of Jamaicans supporting one another and organisations serving communities at home and abroad.

A DECADE OF DENTAL OUTREACH

Led by president Junior Taylor, JCJ has spent the past decade taking dental professionals and volunteers to communities across Jamaica, including St Elizabeth, Hanover, St James and Trelawny.

The organisation’s roots date to 2012, when Taylor and friends in Montego Bay began discussing ways to assist less-fortunate residents. Their early initiatives included wellness outreach for elderly people and shut-ins in rural St James, transportation to health clinics and the distribution of care packages.

The initiative expanded in 2015 when the group assisted a medical mission from Jacksonville, Florida. During that mission, Taylor met dentists Dr Joseph Dove and Dr Anthony Polk, who expressed interest in conducting dental missions in Jamaica. Within a year, the team launched its first dental mission in St James, serving more than 500 Jamaicans in two days.

In July 2026, JCJ provided dental services to more than 450 patients in Montego Bay, with services and supplies valued at an estimated $4 million. Over the past decade, the missions have delivered more than $50 million in dental services, supplies and related assistance.