First Heritage partners with Jamaica Reading Association to promote literacy

First Heritage Co-operative (FHC) Credit Union recently signed a partnership agreement with the Jamaica Reading Association (JRA). The partnership will see both organisations collaborating to enhance and promote National Reading Week under the theme 'Strengthening Our Nation Through Literacy'. This year, National Reading Week will be celebrated from April 28 to May 4.

Although this is the first time FHC will be partnering with the JRA, the credit union has had a rich history of promoting literacy and supporting youth development and education through various outreach and social-development projects.

ASSISTING IN NATION BUILDING

"I don't think a company can call itself great or successful unless it has reached out to communities and assisted in nation building," noted Basil Naar, CEO of First Heritage. "Being good, corporate, socially responsible citizens is not just a part of our strategic management, vision and planning, it is also our way of showing our immense gratitude to Jamaica."

Naar added that he had always believed that one of the greatest contributors to violence in society was the inability of individuals to read and focus on the written word.

"I have found that when literature was introduced into a classroom, students started to learn the power of words. They started to settle down and their scores increased," said Naar.

Phyllis Anderson, president of the JRA, said "this partnership will allow us to critically assess the literacy issues that exist and formulate different strategies to eventually eliminate them".