Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation Celebrates 45 Years of Empowering Jamaican Communities

The Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation (Grace & Staff) is proud to announce the celebration of its 45th anniversary under the theme Building a Bridge of Human Care and Understanding. A week of commemorative activities is planned from October 6 to 11, including a church service and a Volunteer Banquet & Awards ceremony.

At the heart of the Foundation’s anniversary celebration is its unwavering commitment to strengthening Jamaican communities through education, volunteerism, and community development. Since it was founded in 1979, Grace & Staff has been working to address the pressing social and economic challenges in areas surrounding GraceKennedy’s (GK) operations. What began as a localized response in downtown Kingston has now grown to serve communities across the island.

Don Wehby, GK Group CEO and Chairman of the Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation, expressed his pride in the Foundation’s impact, "For 45 years, Grace & Staff has been the embodiment of our company’s We Care ethos. Through the Foundation’s work, we’ve seen remarkable changes in the communities we serve, students gaining access to education, parents actively engaging in community initiatives, and entire families receiving the support they need. Grace & Staff is truly the heartbeat of GK."

Under the leadership of CEO Sandrina Davis, Grace & Staff continues to expand its programmes to meet the evolving needs of the communities. Davis remarked, "Our focus has always been to create spaces where children, families, and individuals can thrive. Whether it’s through our homework centres, STEM programmes, or counselling initiatives, we’re driven by a passion to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives."

She continued, “While we take the opportunity of our 45th anniversary to celebrate all we’ve achieved, we recognize that our mission is far from complete. We remain dedicated to fostering growth and building a brighter future for generations to come.”

Grace & Staff operates six homework centres across Jamaica, providing academic support, computer labs, and music rooms for an average of 400 students weekly. Over 1,500 students receive annual tuition support from the Foundation, which also runs a STEM Centre in Kingston. Beyond education, the Foundation’s programmes—such as counselling sessions, training initiatives, and annual Christmas outreach—are vital to building resilience within the Jamaican communities it serves.

Central to Grace & Staff’s efforts is its emphasis on fostering volunteerism within the GraceKennedy family. GK team members are encouraged to mentor, serve, and uplift others through numerous opportunities for community service. This spirit of giving is further reinforced by a partnership between management and staff, where GK team members make voluntary contributions to the Foundation. These contributions are then matched by GK subsidiaries, amplifying the impact.

As Grace & Staff celebrates this milestone, it remains focused on the future, committed to building a bridge of human care and understanding for another 45 years and beyond.