Please help us repair and rebuild our communities within St. Ann Parish and Jamaica after the devastation of Hurricane Melissa, through financial investments that we will directly disperse to community members and small businesses on the ground. In the immediate, we will be gathering food and supplies that are hard to come by on the island to bring from Chicago, IL USA ahead of our return in November 2025. We will also plan to buy local wholesale foods on the island for distribution. Once back to our home where we relocated in early 2025, we will be personally canvassing communities, purchasing building materials, working with local organizations, and assessing and addressing individual urgent needs. This will include delivering care packages and helping to repair homes and businesses within St. Ann. We also plan to donate women’s and children’s goods to various shelters around the island, including some in the hardest hit areas such as Westmoreland. You donations will directly support these efforts.

We are Mario and Rebecca Stephenson. Our family has a lengthy history in the St. Ann Parish. Mario grew up in Higgin Town, St. Ann from birth, with a significant number of family members located here and very close ties to the community. Mario and I met in a Chicago a decade ago. We decided in 2024 to relocate and build a future in St. Ann Parish. Many of you first “met” our family when we began sharing our experience on social media including relocating to Jamaica and shipping our container - if so, you know how close we hold St. Ann to our heart. We have since made roots for ourself and immediate family in Moneague and Discovery Bay, and have close ties to the surrounding communities. While we are safe and were off the island in Chicago during the hurricane, we look forward to helping directly on the ground.

We feel it is absolutely necessary to ensure immediate financial support is injected into our hometown of St. Ann Parish to bridge the gap before broader government aid trickles down to individuals to help rebuild and revitalize those hit hard by the storm. It is our primary goal of this fundraiser to purchase materials to assist with repairing homes (lost or damaged roofs, water damage to floors, destroyed appliances, unsafe living conditions), assist small businesses and local vendors who lost entire board and zinc structures impacting their earnings, support repairs to local schools, and support critical community members such as taxi men in repairing their vehicles (service, replaced tires or glass).

In addition, we will bring materials and donate

food and care items for immediate humanitarian needs where necessary, and provide donations of women’s and children’s supplies to various shelters around the island including in St. Ann and in Westmoreland.

St. Ann Parish was hit much harder than many realize, and much of the community depends on tourism which will be at a standstill for the foreseeable future. Power will be displaced for 1-2 months. Farms have been destroyed in areas surrounding Higgin Town, Lime Hall, and Claremont impacting the food supply. Each piece of the puzzle is critical to help these communities immediately get back on their feet. Once people have small businesses back up and homes safe and secure, they will continue to give back and reinvest by helping others rebuild, working as tradesmen, and purchasing from local shops.

We will be documenting as much of our efforts as possible while honoring the community’s desired level of dignity and privacy, and will share detailed ways of how our donations helped the community recover for transparency. This will include sharing updates on our Routes to Remember pages on all social platforms.

Thank you for helping us give back to the communities that have given us so much.

Mario, Rebecca, and Carter