A North Kent College student is leading a fundraising effort to support families in his home country of Jamaica following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.
Tyrell “TJ” Jordan (pictured centre above), a Level 4 Media student based at the College’s Dartford campus, launched the campaign after the Caribbean island was hit by the Category 5 storm at the end of last month. His efforts have already caught the attention of the BBC, who visited the College earlier this week to interview him about the initiative.
Tyrell said he “felt compelled to take action” when he saw the scale of the destruction:
“Initially I began raising awareness across the College and the Dartford community, collecting non-perishable items and teaming up with a few friends, driving around in a van to gather donations for people affected. This effort grew into a wider collaboration with the College and we are now working urgently to raise £4,500 to ship a container of emergency aid to Jamaica.”
As part of the fundraising efforts, TJ will host a “Riddims & Relief” Lunchtime Takeover in the College refectory next week, a live DJ set designed to raise awareness and encourage donations. Students and staff will be able to donate both monetary contributions and essential items, including canned food, bottled water, tarpaulin, tools, medical supplies and rice.
TJ added: “I’m proud to have the full support of North Kent College behind this mission. This is only the beginning, and I’m excited to keep pushing until we get vital aid to the people who need it most.”
Tyrell, who plans to travel to Jamaica to help distribute the supplies, has been praised by College staff. Grahame Gladin, Head of Curriculum for Media, said: “TJ is proving to be a fantastic role model within the Department and the College as a whole. His commitment to generate meaningful publicity towards such a worthy campaign is setting a great example amongst our other learners.”
North Kent College offers a number of Media courses at its Tonbridge and Dartford campuses.
The courses cover all aspects of the industry, ranging from presenting, radio, journalism and creative writing to crew and production roles such as a filmmaker, director, or camera operator. It also has its own radio studio, based at the Dartford campus.
To find out more, visit the Creative Media course page of the North Kent College website.