Duty’s call

Jamaica Gleaner | 2025-12-08 | Original Article

Delta Airlines employees are lending a helping hand to communities affected by the Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, bringing care packages, essentials, and even personal services, to residents in need.

 

Unice Rashford, lead of the Delta Employee Volunteer Group, explained the initiative to The Gleaner.

 

“We are Jamaican employees and we came together because we want to have boots on the ground. So we take down not only care packages, but also building stuff and lanterns, things that people need. And so, today, we are in Roaring River. This is our first stop. On Saturday, we go to Cambridge… to do our other drop.”

 

Rashford said the initiative is a cross-divisional effort involving leadership, station staff, and in-flight employees.

 

“We’re just here to help. We’re doing also extra care. We’re giving haircuts, children getting their hair groomed, stuff like that. The community is pretty grateful.”

 

The volunteer group coordinated with Plan Jamaica to determine the areas most in need.

 

“We reached out to a gentleman from Plan Jamaica and he advised me that Roaring River was really heavily hit and needed help. So he did the coordination on the ground for us,” Rashford said.

 

So far, the volunteers have distributed about 300 care packages and 200 cases of water, all of which were exhausted during the visit.

 

“And we’re going to come back. But the goal is to assess and see what we can come back and do. We want to build, either to help a school or infirmary,” Rashford said.

 

The initiative was funded through donations from employees and other contributors.

 

“Well, what we did, we had a donation drive. So we as employees, we went in our pockets and got stuff. And then we asked other employees. And then it just blossomed with all this stuff you see here. I really want to thank the Delta leadership for supporting. And also us as employees that really did the ultimate sacrifice. We’re here volunteering, meaning no pay. So it means a lot for us.”

 

The initiative, Rashford says, feels similar to when she first created the group when she felt a “stir response to duty’s call”.

 

“We have to be here on the ground to help our people. We want to help the people that are affected. Some of us you see from Atlanta … from New York … from New Jersey. It’s a cross collab.”

 

Tacine Lawson, a local station manager for Delta, also spoke to The Gleaner about the initiative.

 

“When the team in the US told me that they wanted to do something and come out and give back to the community, I was like … I will definitely support and come out with that initiative. Everything that they’re doing was collected in the United States from different organisations that donated to the cause here, because we’re [90%] Jamaicans. They wanted to come back and give back to their communities.”

 

Lawson noted that Delta is normally an organisation that believes in humanitarian work.

 

“Delta supports the employees, so we feel as if we can also support the community as well.”

 

Lawson also highlighted the personal touch of the outreach.

 

“Today, I’m braiding hair, so we started doing some haircuts. And these are employees that work for Delta that are doing some haircuts … . We also believe that… by giving back … it’s not just about the food, but also caring for each other … . You look good, you feel good, right? Even within the situation, if anybody looks good, the situation that they’re in changes.”

 

The initiative is planned for two days, with Roaring River being the first stop on Thursday, and South St James scheduled for this past Saturday.

 

Meanwhile Keneil Anderson, who coordinated logistics with the local partners, explained how communities were chosen for assistance.

 

“We just try to find one of the areas where we see that it’s in need and how we can assist. We reached out to Rasta Safari because we have partnered with them through the whole tourism.”

 

Plan Jamaica is a new company which Anderson says is designated for tourism, so he saw it fit to get assistance from the Rasta Safari Experience.

 

Rasta Safari, in Roaring River, Westmoreland, is a cultural and nature tour which lets you experience the countryside trails, swim in rivers, enjoy local food, and experience rural Jamaica.

 

Anderson added that Rasta Safari also helped to determine the specific location for distribution in the community.

 

“In this area, the main agency for work is the Rasta Safari. This is what’s here for this community. So I’ll say they’re the one that would relay the information to the persons that live in this community.”

 

Located approximately five minutes drive from the Roaring River, he commends the tourist attraction company for recommending the community square as the centre of the group’s distribution, which he says is an ideal spot.

 

mickalia.kington@gleanerjm.com

 

View the discussion thread.