Fundraising efforts underway to assist Jamaican workers at Homestead

By Ross Boissoneau

Sun contributor

Longtime seasonal residents at The Homestead John and Belynda Hudspeth have started a fundraiser to provide support for the seasonal Jamaican workers at the resort impacted by the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa. They have reached out to their friends, family and fellow residents and guests at The Homestead to support the effort by making a donation at this link.

“I thought someone’s got to step up,” John says. They had come to know many of the Jamaican workers at The Homestead as friends and even extended family members. As one example, he points to one longtime worker he and Belynda have come to know. “Marsha has three-year-old twins. I think this is her 19th year.

“I have such admiration for how they leave their family to come here and work for six months,” he continues. “They fill essential jobs that help this community thrive, working tirelessly to send money back home and build a better life for their loved ones. It’s a life that’s hard for many of us to understand.”

He says many of the workers live on the west side of the island, which took the direct hit from the Category 5 hurricane, ripping apart homes, businesses and killing at least 67 people. Many of the Jamaican workers at The Homestead, who have been stranded as their flights home were canceled, have been unable to reach loved ones on the island. At press time, the effort had raised nearly $40,000. John says the goal is to raise between $50,000 and $100,000.

In addition to the GoFundMe effort, The Homestead and the Kuras family are donating $10,000 to Food For The Poor, directed specifically at assisting the Jamaicans. Jamie Kuras says a friend of his who lives on and owns a business on the island told him that was the most trustworthy organization to which to donate money. “Many of our workers have been coming here to work for years, and we want to do everything we can to help them,” says Jamie.

Bob Kuras, Jamie’s father and President of The Homestead, echoes that statement. “Whenever I see one of the workers, I always ask, ‘How are you? What’s the situation at home?’ They say they just want to continue working so I can keep my mind off it.

“So we are doing what we can here. Chef Greg Miesch has been preparing meals for them, and this contribution is something we can do now to help in what will be a long-term effort to rebuild.”