About Us
We provide school facilities serving disadvantaged children learning materials, educational technologies, and other classroom necessities to enhance learning and improve their lives allowing for a better future.
Our Vision
Our Mission
We envision a world where children can learn to:
Excel in classrooms without hindrance
Pursue their passion
Be empowered to find new opportunities for a bright future
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Our Founder
Racquel Knight – 31 years old -- grew up in a small, rural district in Portland, Jamaica, called Bellevue.
While attending primary and high school, she found it increasingly difficult to attain the comfort of a chair and desk each school day. Racquel and her schoolmates would spend thirty minutes or more trying to find a chair each day. If a chair had three legs, she would be forced to improvise; this she did by leaning against the wall and manipulating her bodyweight while sitting to avoid falling. In addition, she would use her backpack as seating many times.
Surprisingly, this problem still exists today, especially in the rural areas of Jamaica, where there is an increased need for chairs (furniture) in classrooms. Unfortunately, chairs are often broken or misplaced; therefore, students are sent home from school or struggle to participate during class sessions.
During her college years, Racquel began to reflect on her experience in Jamaica. Racquel Knight founded One Chair 4 One Child while a student at Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she graduated with a degree in global citizenship in 2018. She is currently pursuing her MBA at Western Governor’s University. She registered the One Chair 4 One Child Project as a nonprofit in Massachusetts. One Chair 4 one Child is now known as For One Child Foundation Inc.
She is a member of Startup Worcester’s 2018-2019 cohorts, served on the advisory board of the Yunus Social Business Centre at Becker College, and is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative University Class of 2018. In addition, she and scores of volunteers have made and delivered over 600 chairs and desks to 14 schools throughout Jamaica.
Racquel Knight
Founder/Executive Director
Racquel Knight founded One Chair 4 One Child while a student at Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she graduated with a degree in global citizenship in 2018. Attending school as a child in rural Jamaica, she and her friends frequently struggled to find chairs in their classrooms.
She is a member of Startup Worcester’s 2018-2019 cohort, serves on the advisory board of the Yunus Social Business Centre at Becker College and was in the Clinton Global Initiative University Class of 2018. She and scores of volunteers have made and delivered almost 200 chairs to five schools throughout Jamaica.
Faith Whitney
Fundraising Coordinator
Faith Whitney expects to receive her degree in psychology from Becker College in 2020, then earn a master’s in mental health counseling. The mother of three boys, she works full-time in hospitality while also coordinating fundraising and other events for nonprofits in Central Massachusetts. She has gone on two service-learning trips to Haiti and one trip to rural Jamaica to work with For One Child.
Antonette Staple
Field Director-Jamaica
Antoinette Staple has been involved in public health and community activism in Jamaica for years. She works closely with For One Child partners on the island, building capacity and coordinating operations. In her work, she aims to live up to President John Kennedy’s admonition to “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Sanatty Holness-Plummer
Business Marketing Director
Sanatty Holness-Plummer is a fun-loving, witty, creative, and dedicated wife and mother who enjoys spending her time with family in the great outdoors. She sports the cap of a businesswoman and is also a practitioner in the environmental sciences and project management fields. Mrs. Plummer has earned an MSc. in Natural Resource Management with honors at the University of the West Indies, Mona, in Jamaica, and is currently employed in the development aid field. She brings to the table, seven (7) years of experience in project management and coordination, and rural community development.
Board Members
Bill Kadish
Chairperson