Seafood giant, Rainforest Seafoods, recently presented the We Care for Cornwall Regional Hospital Foundation with $8.25 million, the proceeds from its annual Rainforest Seafood Festival, held on Ash Wednesday this year.
The annual festival raised $8.25 million for the health-focused charity. These funds, in combination with a $1-million donation from Yohan Blake’s YB Afraid Foundation, were presented to the We Care board of directors at a ceremony held at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay.
The event, now in its second year, was sponsored by Digicel, National Bakery, Red Stripe, Wisynco, Tru-Juice, Courts, Jamaica Observer, RJR Group, King Alarm, ATL Group, Margaritaville, Urban Development Corporation, Fontana Pharmacy, Billy Craig Insurance, and CB Chicken.
The foundation has pledged to use the donation towards improvements to the hospital’s Accident and Emergency ward. Last year’s donation of $6 million was used to purchase two ventilators for the paediatric ward.
We Care for Cornwall Regional Hospital was launched in 2011 by a group of concerned Montegonians with the aim of bolstering the services and capacity of the hospital. Since then, more than $23 million has been raised to facilitate the upgrade of the paediatric ward through life-saving equipment, diagnostic units and vital sign monitors. As the only facility in western Jamaica that provides specialised care, such as blood transfusions for young children and babies, there is still much more to be done for this 40-year-old institution. The Rainforest Seafoods team, led by CEO Brian Jardim, has committed to continue to further assist Cornwall Regional Hospital through the Rainforest Seafood Festival.