I am bringing 3 groups of university students to Treasure Beach in 2013. They volunteer in the surrounding primary schools in the areas of literacy, arts, music, and health. If anyone has donations from the US that they would like to get to the schools of Treasure Beach, feel free to contact me at wills@jafsp.org. I will be glad to pay the shipping costs, to get your supplies to my university students in the US - and they will carry them to Jamaica, and deliver the supplies to the schools where we work. Most desperately needed are pencils, pens, crayons, notepads, marker-board markers, chalk, etc. We will also be glad to deliver any clothing donations to those in the community who are most in need. Just email me, and I will take care of everything. Thanks!

Wow! This is great. Such an easy way for tourists living in the US to send donations. Thanks very much for doing this! My husband and I will definitely be in touch. What types/sizes of clothes are needed? Also, can you use books? How about used computers? Is there a limit on how much we can send you?

We can take any and all clothing sizes. Send as much as you want! If it ends up taking a (second) checked bag for a student to carry down, we will gladly cover the luggage fee. Large items and boxes (too large for one student to carry) are sent to the university where I teach in the US (SUNY) where they are divided into more manageable boxes, and assigned to students to carry down.

As for books, typically the bulk of the books that we receive are not really practical for our purposes. Books take up a lot of weight, weight that is often better used for basic school supplies. We can also accept donations of (Apple) laptops and iPads for our work in Jamaica. The iPads work great in the schools, since there is no "learning curve" at all. As for Windows machines, If you have an old laptop let me know and I will find a good home for it - but in order to utilize a computer in a school, it would have to be the same make, model, and operating system already found in a school's computer lab. Maintaining a mix of different (used) computers in a primary school is usually not practical.

We also do volunteer work in the Infirmaries across Jamaica (state run elder-care centers) where their most desperate and pressing need is for adult diapers - mediums. These items (like basic school supplies) tend to be far more expensive in JA. Any tourist or health care worker who would like to arrange a visit to one of these infirmaries (anywhere in Jamaica) may also contact me.

Anyone who wants to donate to the schools where we work can also just go to our Amazon wish list online, and send items to us with a single click, where they will be shipped to my university, and assigned to students - here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/286HWF44P49HG/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_ws_6ioupb1X DKDTB

Thanks!
Eric

I really like the Amazon list. It makes it very easy to donate.

Eric, you should add the adult items to your Amazon list so they can be shipped directly to you.

Thanks "Also a Tourist"! I'm glad you checked out the JAFSP Amazon Wishlist. Thanks also for your great suggestion. Very good idea!

The Amazon list makes it about as easy as it gets - and the items get shipped right to the university for my students to carry down. Since pretty much everyone in the US already has an Amazon account setup - it literally is as simple as a click of the mouse to donate. -Eric

But now your link doesn't work...
I found you anyway, but not through the link provided in this thread.

Here's the updated link to the program's Amazon Wishlist:

http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/3V1007HKAWY60/ref=cm_wl_sb_o?reveal=all& filter=all&sort=date-added&layout=standard&x=17&y=8

Thanks Again!
Eric