Dr Joy Spence, the master blender at J Wray & Nephew Limited is going back to her roots and her first love, of sorts, with benevolence.

Spence recently donated over JM$4m to the chemistry departments of seven institutions across the island.

Students from Mona High, Dinthill Technical, Denbigh High, Edwin Allen High Schools, College of Agriculture, Science & Education (CASE), Montego Bay Community College and University of the West Indies, Mona, will start the new school year with brand new chemistry equipment.

J Wray & Nephew Master Blender Dr Joy Spence (4th L) presents a symbolic cheque worth JM$1.5m to the Chemistry Department at UWI, Mona. They are (l-r) Dr Donna Minott Kates, head of the Chemistry Department, UWI, Mona; with colleagues Dr Marvadebe Singh Wilmot, lecturer and academic dean for student experience; Dr Robin Rattray; Dr Novelette Sadley McKnight; Professor Emeritus Robert Lancashire and Dr Winklet Gallimore. (Photos: Contributed)

Dr Spence who began her career as a Chemistry teacher has always supported the sciences through her mentorship of young scientists and her donations to the J Wray & Nephew Foundation which goes directly to students studying chemistry.

In recognising the challenges faced by teachers and students in the delivery of the science curriculum, she decided to donate to non-traditional high schools that have managed to rise above these challenges and deliver excellence.

On Monday, August 22, Dr Spence handed over poster-style periodic tables branded with the words “Chemistry is Life”, words that have guided her life and career to students “As a chemistry graduate, I especially wanted to assist chemistry students at the non-traditional schools as well as the tertiary level to develop their talents in that discipline so they can take their places in the field internationally”, Dr Spence noted.

The donations to the schools will include hundreds of burettes, volumetric pipettes, beakers, Bunsen Burners, safety boggles, measuring cylinders, test tubes and test tube holders.

Dr Joy Spence signs a symbolic cheque before presenting it to members of the academic staff of the Department of Chemistry at UWI, Mona. (Photos: Contributed)

Mona High School will benefit from a JM$1.1m facelift which will include a repainted science lab, new stools, and cabinets to secure chemicals, and a new counter and a train board for the lab technician’s room.

Dinthill Technical, Denbigh High and Edwin Allen High schools, as well as the CASE and the Montego Bay Community College, will receive donations of chemistry lab kits valued at JM$220k each.

The Chemistry lab at UWI will receive JM$1.5m towards the purchase of an electronic analytical Balance, a much-needed tool for chemical experiments.

“As a student, the Chemistry Department of the UWI played a major role in my decision to become a chemist.

40 years later, I am the Master Blender for a global brand, Appleton Estate and celebrating my wonderful career at J Wray & Nephew which has allowed me to give back to the next generation” said Dr Spence.

40 Years of Joy was launched in December 2021 to celebrate Dr Joy Spence’s forty years with JWN.

Spence was gifted J$20M to donate to forty (40) charities of her choice.

Dr Spence, who joined JWN as the chief chemist in 1981, rose through the ranks to become the industry’s first female master blender in 1997 and was recently named one of Jamaica’s Tourism Brand Ambassadors by Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett.

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