Patrick Vernon

The Ellen Pearl Fund Launches a Giving Advent Calendar for Jamaica’s Children

This Christmas season, The Ellen Pearl Fund is inviting families, friends, communities, and schools to take part in a beautiful act of everyday kindness: a Giving Advent Calendar created especially for children in Jamaica who are recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Melissa.

Rather than counting down to Christmas with chocolates or gifts, this calendar counts down with compassion. Each day from 1st to 25th December, participants are encouraged to add one small but meaningful item to a gift bag, items that will help a child return to school in the New Year with dignity, confidence, and hope.

A Simple Act of Giving, A Powerful Impact

Hurricane Melissa left children across Jamaica facing unimaginable loss, damaged homes, destroyed school supplies, and the emotional weight of starting over. The Ellen Pearl Fund’s Giving Advent Calendar transforms the holiday season into an opportunity to directly support these young survivors.

The instructions are simple:
Add one item each day, following the Advent list provided. When your gift bag is complete, drop it off at any of the listed collection points before 5th January 2026. Every donated item becomes a stepping stone for a child trying to rebuild their normal life.

What Goes Into the Gift Bag?

The calendar includes essential school supplies and small comfort items that every child can benefit from:

• 1–5 December: Notebook, pencils, colouring book, pen, crayons

• 6–12 December: Rubbers, ruler, sharpener, pencil case, treats, toothbrush, toothpaste

• 13–19 December: Shower gel, reading book, small toys, water bottle, hair accessories, flannel, wipes/tissues

• 20–25 December: Hand sanitiser, basic calculator, socks (navy), colouring pencils, soap, sweets

Each item is a reminder that someone cares—someone is thinking of them, rooting for them, and wanting them to thrive.

Community Drop-Off Locations

Generous donors can drop off completed gift bags at the following collection points:

• Beverley Chung: 26 Cranleigh Gardens, N21 1DS — 0776 1010304

• Melanie Stewart: 1 Osborne Gardens, Potters Bar, EN6 1RS — 0771 5013561

• Paulette Edwards: 07768014711

• Marjorie Lopez-Agdomar: 07971290757

• Enfield Baptist Church, Cecil Road, Enfield, EN2 6TG — 020 8363 4263

Every contribution helps brighten the start of the year for a child who has endured immense hardship.

A Season of Generosity and Solidarity

This Giving Advent Calendar is more than a charitable project—it is a call to collective compassion. It reminds us that even during times of hardship and uncertainty, we can find ways to uplift one another. Each small gesture adds up, creating a wave of kindness that stretches across oceans and reaches children who need it the most.

The Ellen Pearl Fund has always been committed to giving hope to children in need. This Christmas, they invite all of us to join in that mission one day, one item, one act of love at a time.