Fresh off a loss at the Australian Open, 21-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams is not taking time to lick her wounds, instead she is giving back by helping to build a school in Trelawny Jamaica.
Serena Williams Fund partnered with Helping Hands Jamaica to help build the Salt Marsh Primary School in Usain Bolt’s hometown of Trelawny, Jamaica.
Jamaican celebrities also joined in the homebuilding efforts including track stars Warren Weir and Yohan Blake as well as entertainer Toots from Toots and the Maytals. Dancehall superstar Sean Paul was also on hand.
“Enjoyablework. Serena Williams Fund’s 3rd school- this time we partnered with Helping Hands Jamaica to build the Salt Marsh Primary School,” Williams posted on Instagram.
The school was established in 1953 on a property known as Dundee Pen, located four miles from Falmouth. Most of the students attending the school are from the surrounding communities, with others travelling daily from as far as Montego Bay in St. James. Most students are children of past students. Many parents are unemployed and some are craft vendors. Currently 80 students benefit from the Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH). The principal is Mervyn Sinclair.
The dual purpose vacation saw Serena and her team residing in a $20,000-a-week beachfront luxury villa near Ocho Rios on Jamaica’s north coast donated by John Bailey. The three-acre property boasts a 10,000 square foot home with seven bedrooms, eight and one half bathrooms, a Junior-Olympic size swimming pool, putting green, gym and a clay tennis court. Now that’s how you ball out AND give back!
SOURCE: News Americas Now
