{"id":2847,"date":"2026-09-26T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wolmers.org\/trust\/uncategorized\/jp-samuels-youth-foundation-keeps-legacy-alive\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T12:00:00","slug":"jp-samuels-youth-foundation-keeps-legacy-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wolmers.org\/trust\/trust-news\/jp-samuels-youth-foundation-keeps-legacy-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018He was too great to stop at his death\u2019 \u2014 JP Samuels Youth Foundation keeps legacy alive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Antoine Lodge<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 26, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Trecha
Trecha Thomas poses with her son Jean-Pierre Samuels\u2019 master\u2019s degree, which she collected at his graduation ceremony a few weeks after his death. Photo: Contributed. Jamaica Gleaner, 26 September 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For Alex Ward, losing his best friend Jean-Pierre \u2018JP\u2019 Samuels felt like losing a brother and a purpose at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samuels died on September 29, 2025 with so much still ahead of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 25-year-old had just finished his master\u2019s degree in corporate finance and was about to start working at a wealth management firm so he could support his mother when he suddenly took ill and died shortly after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But instead of letting his name fade, Ward and a group of Samuels\u2019 closest friends turned their grief into action and launched the JP Samuels Youth Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ward describes his late friend in three words: jovial, honest, and selfless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was known for playing football and dominoes, for the most part. He was my domino partner,\u201d Ward recalled. \u201cEven though I would not consider myself any form of footballer, he would always call me and invite to come play despite how many times I told him I\u2019m not coming, but eventually I would yield.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samuels\u2019 mother, Trecha Thomas, remembers him the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJean Pierre, my first-born and my best friend \u2013 as I affectionately called him, \u2018My Pooh Bear\u2019 because he loved Winnie the Pooh. He was a goodly and godly child, very humble, loving, the best big brother, fierce protector of his siblings, obedient, peacemaker, jovial, selfless and would always put others before himself,\u201d she told The Gleaner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a boy, he dreamt of being a pilot and excelled at mathematics. He later became what his mother calls \u201ca staunch and devoted Chelsea fan and a skilled domino player\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea for the foundation came almost immediately after his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJean Pierre\u2019s legacy was too great to stop at his death so we created the JP Samuels Youth Foundation to ensure that his name would live on and impact a generation,\u201d Ward said. \u201cEvery time we get to impact a child, it\u2019s almost as if he\u2019s still here and we can see him smiling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The values they are pushing forward are the ones Samuels lived by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

POSITIVE OUTLOOK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPursue excellence among everything else,\u201d Ward said. \u201cDespite his living conditions and socioeconomic barriers, you would never know [he was not well off] because of his outlook. Despite all that, he still excelled, and that\u2019s what our mission is \u2013 to provide youth with the resources, guidance and support systems necessary to excel and build brighter future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas said members of the foundation have become like family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are all my children. It has helped me immensely throughout these past months having all their support and love. To know I lost my boy, but gained this blessing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the foundation runs a back-to-school drive, training programmes, and forums on financial literacy and etiquette, as well as r\u00e9sum\u00e9 workshops. It also works with the National Parenting Support Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ward said preteens to early adolescents are the main beneficiaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe that is really the make-or-break period in a lot of young lives,\u201d he reasoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One story stands out to him. That of Shericka McDermott of Ascot High, who lost her mother while her father was unemployed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe ended up taking her up under our wings and covered her school fees, contributed with getting items for her CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate) examinations and paying for her graduation package and now she is a proud high school graduate,\u201d recalled Ward. \u201cEvery time that I see her father, Trevor McDermott, he always expresses his gratitude and I won\u2019t ever forget when he hugged me and cried tears of joy and appreciation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The community has rallied, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ward credits The Pentecostal Gospel Temple, Wolmer\u2019s old boys, Barbican Division Councillor Joy Cotterell, and the Grants Pen community for supporting their back-to-school drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main goal over the next three to five years is to establish youth development centres, starting in St Thomas, where Samuels grew up, then expanding to other parishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The foundation also hopes to impact Holy Family Primary and Wolmer\u2019s Boys\u2019 through grants, scholarships and, potentially, a maths competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what Samuels would say if he saw it all today, Ward didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI definitely think he would say, \u2018Bare things you gwaan wid, enuh, Pups\u2019, and then give his signature smile then infectious laughter. He was really a simple guy, but he would be proud for sure, knowing that his love is felt even beyond the grave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His mother agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFirst of all, I know he would be smiling and saying, \u2018I always tell mommy I have a friend for every area of my life.\u2019 He would be proud to see all we\u2019re doing because he strongly believed in uplifting the youth,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For her, his greatest achievement wasn\u2019t academic \u2013 it\u2019s that \u201che knew God and that he had a relationship with Him. He would always include prayer in every aspect in his life and I believe that is what made the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The foundation can be supported via Instagram or at jpsamuelsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Jamaica Gleaner<\/a>, 26 September 2026. Republished for the Wolmer\u2019s Trust community with attribution.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Antoine Lodge September 26, 2026 For Alex Ward, losing his best friend Jean-Pierre \u2018JP\u2019 Samuels felt like losing a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2846,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[112],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trust-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wolmers.org\/trust\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wolmers.org\/trust\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wolmers.org\/trust\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wolmers.org\/trust\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wolmers.org\/trust\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wolmers.org\/trust\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wolmers.org\/trust\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wolmers.org\/trust\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wolmers.org\/trust\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wolmers.org\/trust\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}