NEW YORK – The winners of the 2019 COJO Benefit Raffle were announced on Saturday, August 3 at the poolside Summer Soirée hosted by Sheree and Horatio Sparkes at their Long Island residence.
The Soirée, one of two annual fundraising events for the New York based Jamaican charity, was an evening of fashion, food and entertainment and also served as the drawing for the annual benefit raffle to benefit underserved children in Jamaica.
JetBlue Airways this year again joined forces with Jamaican hotels Couples, Half Moon, Hilton, Iberostar & Round Hill to assist the New York based non-profit, Children of Jamaica Outreach (COJO).
Over US$25,000 was raised from the benefit raffle and soiree which will help deserving children who are wards of the state in Jamaica pursue their academic goals.
Winning the first prize was Rose Green, who copped the grand prize of a 6-day/ 5-night stay for two at any Couples Resort in Jamaica, with a pair of round trip tickets on JetBlue.
Walton Punter won the second prize of a 5-day/4-night stay for two at Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa with two roundtrip tickets on JetBlue, while Michael Clark walked away with the third prize of a 4-day/3-night stay for two at Iberostar Hotels & Resorts plus two roundtrip tickets on JetBlue.
COJO Founder and Chairman Gary M. Williams expressed his gratitude to JetBlue and various hotel partners for their commitment to the organization’s scholarship fundraising efforts over the years. “I am grateful to JetBlue Airways and our hotel partners for making this important investment in our children…our future. JetBlue has been a committed sponsor of COJO and we wish to thank them for providing travel certificates for travel to Jamaica to complement the hotel stays as well as round-trip travel tickets to host the Jamaican media to provide coverage of this year’s event,” noted Williams.
Robert DeSouza, Sr. and Ingrid Dixon served as emcees for the evening’s program which saw guests being treated to a fashion show and live entertainment.
Among the featured designers were Brooklyn-based Moshood Creations, Signature Closet Boutique and The Mushroom, Jamaica, which provided men’s swimwear.
Entertainment was provided by Tropical Rhythms and DJ Drew of DIMEX.
Rounding out the evening was the fine fare of food provided by Jamaica Breeze, Footprints Café and Topaz Restaurant with drinks courtesy of Grace Foods and Iberia Foods.
