JN Group employees have raised more than $1.3 million over the past six months to assist in the fight against cancer, says Tanya Pringle, manager of the Corporate Communications Department.

The funds were raised through two Relay for Life events, staged by the Jamaica Cancer Society (JCS) in Kingston and Ocho Rios, St Ann, in June and August respectively, Pringle said. The annual Relay For Life events honour cancer survivors; pay tribute to victims, and raise funds for cancer research, treatment and awareness.

"Staff members at Jamaica National Building Society co-ordinated with employees at JNBS subsidiaries to maximise the level of contributions," Pringle stated. "As a result, we raised more than twice the $600,000 which was contributed last year."

The efforts of employees resulted in the JN Group copping the award for providing the largest corporate donation and also for providing the most donations by a team at the JCS Kingston awards ceremony in July.

At the Kingston Relay for Life event, held at the Police Officers' Club, the battle with cancer was dramatised by staff members who staged a mock boxing match, with one boxer representing the disease, and the other, representing a survivor in the fight against cancer. The team took a different approach in Ocho Rios, in a 'Walk for the Cure' retro '70s '80s theme at the Turtle Tower Park.

Each year, the Relay For Life events provide millions of dollars in support of the operations of the JCS. These funds help to ensure that JCS continues to provide its clinic services; Pap smear and mammography screening; prostate cancer screening; as well as counselling support.

"The aim of the Jamaica Cancer Society is to eliminate cancer as a major health problem in Jamaica," Mrs. Pringle stated. "This is a mission which the JN Group is proud to have supported and will continue to assist."