Retired Jamaican Olympian and current Marketing Manager for Running at Puma, Juliet Campbell, is set to give back to her roots with an initiative aimed at uplifting the communities in Eastern Kingston where she grew up. On December 22, Campbell will host a Kids Fest and Community Yard Sale at Harbour View Primary School, marking the start of her efforts to make a meaningful and lasting impact in the area.
“So, I am from that area,” said Campbell, a three-time Olympian, 2000 World Indoor 200m gold medalist, and 2003 World Championships 200m bronze medalist. “I can pretty much claim to be from Rockfort, all the way back to Shooters Hill in Bull Bay, with a little stint in Hagley Gap out in St Thomas. Went to Harbour View Primary, went to Donald Quarrie Secondary before I left for St Jago High School.”
The event, she explained, is the first step in her broader plans to support and engage the community. “I am putting on a Kids Fest and a community yard sale on December 22 at the Harbour View Primary School, just to meet the people and let them know what’s going on and start from there. It’s a stepping stone in big plans that I have for Harbour View, especially Harbour View Primary, where I am going to be very intentional about helping them to develop their sports programme. That field right there is where my athletic career started.”
Alvin Walters, Principal of Harbour View Primary welcomes the initiative and is cautiously optimistic about what lies ahead.
“We appreciate the initiative and we look forward to see what comes of the Kids Fest, the proceeds of that, in part, would go to the school to assist us with our sports programme,” he told Sportsmax.TV.
“It is something that would be ongoing and as an Olympian, she is looking forward to seeing how that impacts us positively as a school.”
Campbell has quietly supported the community for years but is now moving toward a more structured approach. “I do stuff in the area, privately, but now I am branching out with a foundation, helping and doing more with the community and the kids there. This is just kind of an initiation to test the waters to see what direction I’m going.”
Her commitment to giving back stems from her upbringing and the example set by her mother. “I have helped so many persons through my mother (Ms Lorraine). I remember there was even a child who had a disability and needed some special shoes. I paid for the shoes. My mother takes money and cooks for the elderly, takes food for the shut-ins. I have paid medical bills, school fees, you name it, I have done it in the community.”
This event will fund further initiatives. “The vendors who are coming in to sell their goods will have to pay a fee to secure their spots, all that money will be donated to Harbour View Primary,” Campbell said. “The reception so far has been really good but regardless of how it turns out, it won’t stop me from continuing the plan. It’s just for me to get a feel of the temperature of the community.”
Among Campbell’s future plans is a bakery initiative that would provide both skills and employment opportunities. “I know of an organization overseas, a Fortune 500 company. Their charity of choice is that they go into countries and communities and set up state-of-the-art bakeries for young people to enhance their skills and earn a living by baking,” she said. “I know quite well the persons that run that initiative, that’s among the initiatives I have planned.”
Campbell’s concerns extend to the youth in Shooters Hill, where she sees opportunities for intervention. “I really don’t like what I see when I drive up there. The young people seem so lost, they’re just hanging out and that can’t be good. I know that there are opportunities in the country for these persons to develop themselves to gain skills and to earn, but the motivation doesn’t seem to be there, so I am going to try to inject a little positivity and energy.”
Campbell is determined to uplift the community that shaped her. “I am looking forward to going in and working with and developing our community,” she said.
The Kids Fest and Community Yard Sale represents just the beginning of Campbell’s ambitious plans, and her commitment to Eastern Kingston is sure to inspire others to follow her lead.