Shernett Hall-Auld  hoping to ‘Touch a Thousand Hearts’

By Cecelia Campbell Livingston

Shernett Hall-Auld had always recognised that there are vulnerable children in the Jamaican society who need help getting even the basic school supplies to use in the learning process.

As such, she was moved to start the Auld’s Academy and Charity Foundation (AACF), a registered educational and charitable organisation that has been making a difference in the lives of many students since its formation.

The educator said she was moved to start the organisation because she always had a passion for teaching and training and she knew there  are many children in Jamaica in need of help. 

“This became even more evident to me in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were parents who couldn’t afford to purchase school supplies for their children to use at school. I remember back then, I contacted Mr. Aldayne Porter, Principal of Christiana Leased Primary & Infant School (my alma mater), and told him that we would like to donate some school supplies to children at the school who were most in need of assistance,” she shared.

Porter approved of the initiative and on August 18, 2020, the school gave away 100 academic care packages to students in all grade levels.

“The parents and the children expressed their gratitude and were very appreciative of the packages. It was truly a heartwarming feeling to know how grateful they were. At the end of the day, I felt so accomplished and fulfilled that I said, “This is something that I believe I want to continue to do for as long as I can (by the grace of God),” she remarked.

Commenting on the academic arm of her business, Auld Academy, she explained that it exists to enlighten, engage, and enhance individuals’ knowledge and skills by offering varying educational and professional development workshops and courses to organisations, employees, and recent university graduates.

“Our charity arm exists to provide scholarships, grants, and school supplies to children; as well as aid to other needy individuals,” she pointed out.

The following year, after distributing packages to students, Hall-Auld noted that the decision was made to formalise the initiative and/or make it a yearly event.

“I can remember speaking to one of my past students, who is also our Marketing Consultant, Kimiko Williams, and she said to me, “Miss, I think you should make it into a yearly initiative and that we should call it ‘Touch a Thousand Hearts.’  I loved the name she suggested, and we officially launched the initiative last year.”

 ‘Touch a Thousand Hearts’ is an annual outreach initiative geared towards equipping 1,000 school-aged children with educational resources that are needed to support their learning and development throughout the school year.

“In 2022, although our aim was to distribute packages to 1,000 students (an ambitious goal), we only managed to reach 320 students from five schools across the island. 

The main challenge that we faced with the ‘Touch a Thousand Hearts’ initiative was getting donations or raising sufficient funds to purchase the school supplies. We are beyond grateful, however, to all individuals and organisations, such as the VM Foundation, the National Education Trust, Unicycle, Office Supplies Brokers Limited, and Grace Foods, who supported the ‘Touch a Thousand Hearts’ initiative in 2022,” Hall-Auld shared.

She is hoping that this year, even more sponsors will come on board so that they can assist even more schools.

Among the schools that have benefited from the initiative over the past three years are Christiana Leased Primary & Infant School, Morant Bay High School, Marlie Mount Primary & Infant School, Mount Nebo Primary & Infant School, Port Royal Primary & Infant School, and Spring Gardens Primary School.

Aside from being the founder and director of Auld’s Academy & Charity Foundation, Hall-Auld is also a Lecturer in the School of Business Administration at the University of Technology, Jamaica, where she teaches several accounting courses.

Born and raised in the cool hills of Christiana, Manchester, she developed a love for teaching at an early age, inspired by her mother, who was a teacher for 35 years. Now a passionate and dedicated educator herself, Hall-Auld consistently strives to enhance her students’ learning, growth, and development through the use of a range of innovative teaching strategies and technologies.

The charitable arm of her website may be found at: https://www.aacf.ca/pages/auld-s-charity-foundation.