Jamaica trip requires special packing

WEST CHESTER, Ohio - A vacation trip to Jamaica doesn't typically include the kind of packing that went on in West Chester over the weekend.

Then again, Cheryl Hunt and her friends won't be basking in the sun on a relaxing beach. They'll be delivering supplies to children in need.

Several years ago, Hunt founded the Jamaica Children's Fund , an international non-profit affiliated with the Kiwanis Clubs in Montego Bay, that delivers toiletries, school supplies and toys to orphanages, hospitals and hospices in Jamaica.

"My mom and I went to Jamaica on vacation and were touched by the poverty of the kids," Hunt said. "We started with three boxes to help one school."

This Christmas season Hunt will travel to Jamaica with a dozen friends who will each take two boxes as their luggage to delivery personally to those in need.

At this weekend's "packing party," Charlotte Jones said she looks forward to the trip now each year. She delivers something the children need and always returns with something for herself: a real sense of Christmas.