While many people think of Jamaica as a tropical paradise, beyond the tourist image lies a third-world country where the average worker makes $1.50 per hour and works many hours per week. Houses are typically made out of boards, with rooms that usually have a single lightbulb.
“What the tourists experience is beautiful, but I am connected to the people there and their struggles, and am so thankful and grateful for all who have chosen to help me try to make things better there in whatever little way possible,” said Fern Flicker, president of One Love One Heart.
One Love One Heart—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit—was created to help fill the needs within the communities of Jamaica. In addition to clothing drives, the organization also holds school supply drives, food drives, scholarship programs and other collections to help people in need.
The organization is completely run by volunteers. Flicker is the president of the organization, along with Roy Stephenson being the vice president and Sharon Appel-DeChristopher serving as the outreach director. Though Flicker has been traveling to Jamaica since 2011, it wasn’t until 2014 that she visited a local community and saw the living conditions first-hand.
“I flew home thinking about how I could help, and that's when One Love One Heart was conceived,” Flicker said.
Lansdale’s West Main Consignment is seeking to make a global difference by serving as a drop-off location for the Fifth Annual One Love One Heart’s Clothing Drive. The drive is being held from now until Oct. 31.
“The clothing drive came about when Fern Flicker came home from Jamaica four years ago and wanted to find a way to help the people of Jamaica,” said Appel-DeChristopher. Flicker began collecting from friends and family, but it has grown to so much more, especially after she began contacting consignment shops.
West Main Consignment has partnered with One Love One Heart for the past three years, and joins them again for their fourth year. According to Janice Tindall, the owner of West Main Consignment, the partnership grew from mutual customers between Fern Flicker’s Make Music and More and Tindall’s West Main Consignment.
The collection is held in the fall, since people are transitioning from summer clothes to fall and winter clothes.
“She’d love to have children’s clothes,” said Tindall “Men ruin their clothes, so [I’m sure they’d like] men’s t-shirts and shorts.”
Flicker has delivered clothing to Jamaica in the past, and has seen how much they need the items.
“The response to our projects is overwhelming,” Flicker said. “They look forward to the clothing, food and school supplies, as we have continued to grow to our projects.”
Clothing items can be dropped off at West Main Consignment Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. One Love One Heart is also accepting monetary donations to help cover the costs of shipping the clothing items.
