Exposure to international issues at Cheshire opened a whole new world for one caring alum
Others might look at the forlorn field behind Goodwill School in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and see uneven ground, rubble, and the odd tree stump.
Jaida Williams ’19 sees opportunity.
By creating a soccer field behind the school Williams’ parents attended, the Ann Hewan Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity she helped found in 2023, is building a lively, positive space for kids to build healthy habits and for friendships and community to flourish. For Williams, the ultimate goal is erasing the need for so many Jamaicans to leave their homeland looking for financial security and a better life somewhere else.
“If we can build that field where they can play sports, maybe they will not pick up a life without sports,” said Williams, the foundation’s chief operations officer and director of philanthropy. “Giving them a sense of community is so important. We want to take care of the people still there so they might not have to leave.”
It was athletics that brought Williams, a Stratford, CT, resident, to Cheshire Academy, though in a roundabout way. Watching the film “The Parent Trap” as a kid, she was fascinated by scenes of a girl fencing, a sport she’d never seen or tried.
“I turned to my mom and said, ‘Mom, I want to fence!’” said Williams, laughing.
Her mother challenged her to do some research on schools in Connecticut that might give her that opportunity and she found Cheshire.
“I got in and toured and I absolutely loved every aspect of it,” said Williams, who co-captained CA’s fencing team. “It was the best four years of my life.”
After Cheshire, Williams headed to the University of Connecticut, where she majored in political science and minored in communications. Thinking about her prospects after college, she turned to the late Ann Hewan for inspiration.
Born and raised in Goodwill St. James, Jamaica, Hewan didn’t have children of her own, but that never stopped her from caring and providing for a string of extended family members and children. Williams’ uncle, Edgar “Pete” Peters, was one of the youngsters left in Hewan’s care after his mom, Hewan’s niece, left for America to find the means to support her family when he was two. Peters enlisted Williams’ help in creating the foundation, guided by Hewan’s compassion, grace, and belief in the power of education.
The first project has been the open field at Goodwill School. With donations and a partnership with The Goodwill School Alumni Foundation, they’ve built a retaining wall and are busy leveling the ground and removing the debris, rocks, roots, and stumps that have left many young athletes injured during games and practice. Multiple videos on the foundation website attest to the ongoing work.
The foundation is also looking to partner with other charitable groups for its breakfast program that ensures children at Goodwill School – and other community members in need – have a healthy meal before school, Williams said.
From there, Williams has big dreams. She envisions an orphanage to provide a safe, secure home for the children of those who go to the U.S. for work and other facilities and services found in a thriving community.
“I’d like to build a community center, so the school isn’t the only place the children have to hang out,” she said.
For now, Williams and her team are working to fill their website with videos and photos of the field work and children who benefit and create a social media presence to get their message out. The foundation of global citizenship she learned through Cheshire Academy’s motto, “Ich dien,” or “I serve,” has helped focus her life’s goals.
“Being an international boarding school, it was there I met people from all over the world and it fueled my love for culture,” she said. “Me living here and being born here in the U.S. was a privilege. I want to take care of the people who are still at home in Jamaica.”
Want to know more about the Ann Hewan Foundation? Visit theannhewanfoundation.com.
