Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce stood at the podium, her radiant smile reflecting the immense pride she felt for the Pocket Rocket Foundation on its 10th anniversary. The celebration and fundraiser were taking place at the elegant AC Hotel in Kingston, and it was a night of reflection, gratitude, and renewed commitment to the under-served Waterhouse community and student athletes who had benefitted from the foundation's scholarships.

She began by expressing her deep gratitude to the sponsors, partners, and friends who had supported the foundation over the past decade. "It's because of your generosity why we're here this evening that we're able to celebrate 10 years of the Pocket Rocket Foundation. The impact and the legacy that we have had throughout the 10 years is all because of you," she emphasized.

Turning her attention to the foundation's origin, Fraser-Pryce shared the motivation behind its creation. "Now, the reason I have the Pocket Rocket Foundation is because for all of my life, there are so many persons that poured into who I was and who I was going to become. They saw vision, they saw hope, they saw so much more, and it's because of that why we have the Pocket Rocket Foundation."

The five-time World 100m champion recognized the importance of balancing education and sports to transform lives, a lesson she learned early in her life. "When I was in Waterhouse, I always knew; like my mom would say to me that sports was going to be my way out. We have to learn to strike the balance between education and sport to transform your life, and I learned that early that that was going to be the case."

She stressed the significance of service, explaining, "Service is our greatest strength. I've always believed that. For those who serve, you are powerful. It's your strength that's where you lead from. I crossed the line and I wanted to give back."

The three-time Olympic gold medalist praised her then manager, Bruce James, who helped her set up the foundation. "I said to Mr. (Bruce) James I needed to start my foundation, and I wanted to have impact. I don't want to start a foundation because it looks good on paper or it sounds good. I want to start a foundation because I want to have impact. I want to give student athletes the same privilege, the same chance to dream, to plant a seed, to have hope."

She thanked the foundation's initial supporters, including GraceKennedy, Digicel, and Nike, for providing the initial funding. Sagicor's contribution, providing a rent-free home for the foundation for almost two years, was especially noteworthy. Shelly-Ann recognized the importance of transparency and integrity in her foundation's operations.

Throughout her speech, Shelly-Ann expressed her gratitude to her sponsors for their unwavering support. "There's never a time that I've called on any of my sponsors to say, I need your support, I need to donate food, I need toys for the kids, I need bags, and they're always there. I've never heard I can't. It's always yes."

Shelly-Ann then highlighted the impact the Pocket Rocket Foundation had on student athletes. "73 student athletes over the 10 years. It's just remarkable for me to have seen a lot of you transcend so many different things."

She mentioned examples like Tahj Lumley, one of the foundation's first recipients, who became the national squash coach, and Jovaine (Atkinson), who became a pilot. "When you talk about them, it is hope and that is the seed that we have planted in their lives because of you. I want to be able to fuel those dreams and help them surpass their own expectations."

The foundation's initiatives, including the breakfast program with GraceKennedy, aimed to make a difference in the Waterhouse community. Shelly-Ann emphasized the importance of providing every child with access to nutritious meals, regardless of their family's circumstances.

Discussing the foundation's football program, she said, "When you talk about peace through sports, that's what our football program does. It's bringing young men from different communities who are otherwise pre-occupied or not speaking. We're able to bridge that gap because of that football competition."

Shelly-Ann hoped for a better, more united Waterhouse through her foundation's efforts. "That's the Waterhouse that I want. That's the Waterhouse that I'm dreaming of. We want to have impact, we want to have legacy."

In closing, Shelly-Ann emphasized that her own journey was a blueprint for the student athletes. "You can have balance. Having that balance and striking that balance is difficult, but it's possible. I did it. I am the blueprint. I am showing them the way.”

Several sponsors received awards on the night for their contributions to the Pocket Rocket Foundation (PRF) over the past decade.  GraceKennedy Ltd received the Pocket Rocket Foundation Pinnacle Award, Nike received the PRF Trailblazer Award, the PRF Standout Performer went to Wisynco, the PRF Start Award went to Sagicor, the PRF Change Award went to Digicel and the PRF Trendsetter Award was received by American Friends of Jamaica.

Global track and field icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and her Pocket Rocket Foundation are celebrating 10 years of existence this year and in celebration, and to raise funds to offer even more scholarships to student-athletes in need of financial support, will be staging a fundraising banquet on November 4 that will be streamed on Sportsmax.

The two-time Olympic 100m gold medallist promises that the occasion will be one to remember.

Since its inception in 2013, the foundation has awarded scholarships to 73 student athletes across various sports from 26 schools across Jamaica. They are able to do so through generous backing from companies like GraceKennedy, Digicel and now National Baking Company Foundation, who donated JMD$1,000,000.00 to the foundation at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on Tuesday when 11 more student-athletes were awarded scholarships.

Each scholarship recipient, in addition to the JMD$100,000 academic scholarship, will also receive, JMD$7500 NIKE book bag, official Pocket Rocket Foundation notebooks and Promise Pin, a JMD$15,000 Book voucher, a $10,000 GraceKennedy Food Basket and a JMD$25,000 DIGICEL Tablet with JMD$3,000 worth of credit.

Fraser-Pryce explained afterwards that the work is just beginning hence the fundraiser planned for next month.

“For the Pocket Rocket Foundation, we have a lot of visions that we are implementing currently from the Rocket Start Breakfast Programme that we rolled out last year, donating deep freezes and refrigerators to different schools, just to enhance school life,” she remarked.

“What we have coming up is the Pocket Rocket Foundation’s 10^th anniversary fundraising gala at the AC Hotel on November 4 when we are looking forward to all that we have been able to accomplish throughout the years as well as implementing a (public-relations) etiquette seminar for students.”

Among the foundation’s future plans is a strategy to prepare high school student-athletes for college by providing them with the tools they need to successfully make the transition thus enhancing the chances of success.

“I think one of the things that is also important for the foundation is college readiness,” said Fraser-Pryce, who has a degree in Child and Adolescent Development from the University of Technology.

“We have a lot of athletes that are here from different sports and a lot of them will need help in transitioning because it is not as easy as it seems. It definitely takes a while to transition and some of the things we want also want to be able to offer them is mental health support because for a lot of persons there are different ways that they cope and I want to assist as best as possible, helping them to cope. It’s not just about giving them cash and kind but it is to be readily available to cater to different needs that we don’t know of or money can’t buy.”

These are among the reasons why the five-time World 100m champion will be asking patrons of the gala to make the sacrifice and turn out for the occasion because every dollar raised will go towards building these student-athletes into productive citizens of Jamaica.

“How it works is that you just empty your bank account, give it us and we can continue to invest in student-athletes,” she said breaking out into laughter.

“The ticket costs USD$350 and also, as a company, you can be a sponsor of the gala and you can have a table for your company to have up to 10 persons to attend. We’ll have items for auction and raffle items,” she said.

“Sportsmax will also be there to live-stream the event so wherever you are in the world you will be able to participate. It will be a night of excellence.”