Seventeen local charities were the beneficiaries of approximately $113 000 yesterday during the Canadian Women’s Club (CWC) of Barbados Annual Charity Disbursement Meeting.
Held at the Providence Elementary School at Francia in St. George, the occasion was attended by High Commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Marie Legault, sponsors, students of the school and representatives of the charities.
President of the CWC, Heather Laughlin said the funds presented were mostly raised through the Canada Day Golf Tournament at Royal Westmoreland, which occurred in June last year.
Among the organisations receiving funds were the Barbados Council for the Disabled, the Barbados Diabetes Foundation, Barbados Burns & Orthotic Charitable Trust, Cancer Support Services, Caribbean Dyslexia Association, Nature Fun Ranch and the Department of Paediatrics at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).
Representatives of some of these organisations upon acceptance of their cheques shared how this year’s donation would be used. One such person who made this disclosure was BPW Shelter for Abused Women’s representative, Patricia Sealy. She said last year’s money “was used to repair the roof of the storage container which previously experienced water damage destroying lots of items. We were also able to complete one of our suites by painting the walls and supplying kitchen items and the money did even more for the women personally … We hope with our 2019 donation to build a walk-in pantry, which can provide free movement for the selection of groceries and effective inventory control. This will free up the staff room area.”
It was also shared during the meeting that the funds given to the Diabetes Association of Barbados will be used for their annual summer camp, Camp Pride. Meanwhile, the Cancer Support Service will be using their funds for colon cancer initiatives. The monetary donation to the Barbados Diabetes Foundation will be used to acquire an ECG machine and projector. While the funds received by the Caribbean Dyslexia Association will go towards updating testing materials and two seminars they will be hosting. (MG)