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Palisadoes Foundation Treasurer, Tennyson Williams explains the goals of the Calico Challenge.

The Palisadoes Foundation had its first Silicon Valley fundraising event on June 9, 2018 in San Jose. Enough funds were raised via social media, email campaigns and the event itself to fully sponsor one of our 2018 Calico Challenge students.

Catering was donated by two stellar Bay Area establishments, Kingston 11 Cuisine whose jerk chicken and fried plantains were cherished by all, and Flavas Jamaican Grill, who provided delicious rice and peas.

Calico is a Palisadoes summer internship program for Jamaican university student programmers. Their work is supervised by software industry volunteers with an interest in helping students transition into the work world. Calico stipends are paid when students achieve of pre-defined goals assigned by their mentors. The software code our Calico students produce are actually contributions to various open source software projects. The results of their work are public on the GitHub website and publicly show the quality of their work. This can be used by potential employers as an addition to the students’ resumes.

Open source software is created through the collaboration of volunteer programmers to make apps that are free for use by all. Popular open source projects include the Chrome and Firefox web browsers, the Android operating system used by 80% of all mobile phones, the freely available LibreOffice and OpenOffice alternatives to Microsoft Office, and many of the free apps available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Calico is very closely modeled on the Google Summer of Code (GSoC) initiative. Google has run GSoC for over ten years and in 2016 over 1,500 students around the world are expected to participate. A primary goal for Palisadoes is to make Calico a feeder program for GSoC.

It is hard to believe that this is our third full year of being a charitable organization. We have come a long way. The donations received today will help Jamaican university students transition seamlessly into the work world through our Calico Challenge mentorship program.

Peter Harrison, President of The Palisadoes Foundation.

I’m very encouraged by the turn out for the event. It shows the great commitment of the community to our cause that is truly helping the development of the island. We have often spoken about expanding Calico to the rest of the Caribbean, the time to do so is getting closer by the day.

KG Charles-Harris, Company Secretary of The Palisadoes Foundation

We continue to increase our donation base through these sorts of events, and look forward to even better outreach programs in 2019. Our core volunteer team is growing and I’m confident that we’ll be able to expand regionally in the near future.

Tennyson Williams, Treasures of The Palisadoes Foundation

Stay tuned to the Palisadoes Foundation website’s news feed for updates on our activities.

Donations were eagerly provided by keen attendees who understood our core mission.

Denise McCalla-Creary and Cassandra Campbell enjoy the moment

Palisadoes Foundation Treasurer, Tennyson Williams and the Foundation’s Company Secretary, KG Charles-Harris discuss plans for 2019.

Donors learning how the Palisadoes Foundation uses its funds to help prepare Jamaican students.

About Kingston 11

Kingston 11 Cuisine is an environmentally friendly, community-oriented, innovative restaurant. Its mission is to provide consistent high-quality, delicious blends of Jamaican and Californian cuisines using local and organic ingredients. It is a contemporary urban dining oasis known for great service, cultural exchange and the nexus of great relationships. Our goal is to use these qualities to positively transform the lives of our patrons, employees, and greater community.

the restaurant has been the lifelong dream of Owner and Chef, Nigel Jones. Growing up in Kingston 11, one zip code away from Trenchtown, Nigel was surrounded by the smells, sounds, culture, and taste of urban Kingston. He was trained in the kitchen of his beloved grandmother, Gwen “Miss Gwen” Larmond who taught him to cook by balancing the flavors of the most local of ingredients—fruits and vegetables from the yard. His extensive travels also taught him that the kitchen innovations of poorer communities—the hearty home cooked meals—are the best, most flavorful and therefore most satisfying. For years he has sought to bring his appreciation for his native food and culture together with his desire for a sophisticated dining and lounge experience where all are welcome. Kingston 11 Cuisine has become that place. From their days as a pop-up restaurant in Berkeley, CA to the new space in Oakland’s Uptown, Nigel and his partner Adrian Henderson have seamlessly combined Miss Gwen’s legacy of simple home cooking, Jamaica’s rich culinary tradition, and the global practice of community-building around food, drink, and music.

About Flavas Grill
Flavas Jamaican Grill is a mid-scale restaurant established with a mission to serve delicious authentic Jamaican cuisine in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

The Chef has a passion for flavor and a desire to satisfy the taste buds of all lovers of Jamaican food. You may have tasted some of these dishes on a vacation to the Island, or if you are just exploring for something new to savor, the Chef will guarantee your return to Flavas for more delicious Jerk & sweet reggae music.

Flavas owner, Leroy Douglas began his cooking career at the early age of ten, at home in Jamaica cooking for his family. That early love of cooking led him to one of the top local colleges in Jamaica. After a few years in the industry, Chef Leroy went to further his studies in the field at the George Brown College in Toronto and Hocking College in Ohio. In Jamaica he worked as a chef at the Super Club Resorts, Sandals Resorts and Swept Away Resort. In America his work at the Skyline Club in Southfield Michigan; the Marriot Hotel Renaissance, Detroit and the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, Detroit is known.

Chef Leroy has participated in many food shows and competitions and has won several medals. He uses his experience and skills to tantalize the taste buds of South San Francisco with the freshest ingredients and tastiest Jamaican style preparations. Whatever the occasion, Chef Leroy will customize your menu exactly to your specifications.