The Gleaner
August 2, 2025
GoodHeart | Myshka Allen is on a mission to help Jamaicans thrive
At just 27 years old, Myshka Allen, community project officer at Project STAR, has come full circle in her community.
At just 27 years old, Myshka Allen has come full circle in her commitment to community. What began as volunteering in her neighbourhood has grown into a full-time role as a community project officer at Project STAR. The Holy Childhood High alumna now spends her days helping underserved Jamaicans rewrite their futures. In her current role, Allen works on the front lines of social change, partnering with residents to build stronger, more hopeful communities.
And thanks to ongoing support from corporate donors like Sygnus, her reach is going even further.
Allen holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing, with a minor in accounting, from the University of Technology. Her path into community development wasn’t planned but grew from a sense of purpose. A Social Development Commission representative who saw her in action at a community event in Duhaney Park later recommended her for the role at Project STAR.
A natural leader, she volunteered enthusiastically, catching the attention of key stakeholders. That moment sparked a journey that led her to serve on several local governance boards. In May 2023, she officially joined the team in her current role.
“Jamaican development is second nature to me,” she said. “Whether I’m getting paid or not, I’d be doing this.” That passion fuels her daily work in communities like Parade Gardens and Rose Gardens, where she says she came to better understand the urgency for support and the need to empower residents.
“I had no idea how deep the need was until I stepped outside my own community,” she explained. “Mindset change is critical. Sometimes, just one intervention can shift things for an entire family”.
That shift is what Sygnus is helping to make possible. With two consecutive investments totalling $10 million, Sygnus is helping expand small business grants, psychosocial services, and job readiness training across multiple communities. For Allen, the real impact is in the stories behind the statistics: the residents who are becoming more confident, more engaged, more hopeful.
“It’s not just about writing a cheque,” she explained. “Project STAR’s corporate donors are helping us to deliver a full framework so people can thrive in their families, their schools, and their finances. Their support allows us to say to a parent, ‘Yes, your child can go to school today because lunch will be there.’ That’s not small. That’s legacy-building.”
Although she grew up in a supportive home, Myshka understands the power of emotional connection. As a teenager, she experienced a period of deep loneliness when many of her close friends moved away. She longed for a safe space outside of school and church, somewhere she could feel seen and supported. That gap in her own life still shapes the compassion she brings to her work today.
“I didn’t need a big intervention. I just needed someone to say, ‘You are valued. You matter,” she shared. “That’s what I try to give to every resident I meet.”
Project STAR’s data shows thousands of residents engaged, hundreds trained, and growing community participation. But for Allen, the heart of the mission is personal: the single mother launching a catering business, the teenager returning to school, the young man choosing to build his own path instead of waiting for help.
This work is bigger than me,” she said.
When asked what message she’d share with other corporate donors, Allen didn’t hesitate. “Just fahwud! We need you. Jamaica needs you.”
Generous, hardworking, and empathetic are qualities that make her a standout force in community development helping to lead Jamaica toward a future where everyone is valued and has the opportunity to thrive.
gleaner.com/article/lifestyle/20250802/goodheart-myshka-allen-mission-help-jamaicans-thrive
