Friday, 16 December, was an occasion for smiles and applause at the offices of Guardian General, as the Company welcomed representatives of 11 care institutions, who happily anticipated receipt of the donations to their causes and charities, as 2016 reaches its end.
The care institutions represented at the event included: Fr Hilarion Cheshire Home, School for the Deaf, Society of St Vincent De Paul, Bel Air Children’s Home, GRENCODA, Queen Elizabeth Home for Children, The Society of Friends of the Blind, The Dorothy Hopkin Centre for the Disabled, GRENSAVE, Stewards of the Poor & Grand Anse Gardens Home for the Aged.
Prior to the donation presentation, Mr Hughes stated “It is our belief that the challenges set before your institutions have become herculean in their magnitude and that your fight to continue to exist, against the odds, is one we wish wholeheartedly to assist with. We have established ourselves as one of the leading insurance entities in Grenada, and wherever we might see a surplus, we would wish to take the opportunity to share it with organisations looking after the care of our communities. Our encouragement to other corporate entities is that we all take the lead in assisting and providing resources to those in need.” Mr Hughes also encouraged the Guardian General invitees to feel free to use the opportunity to share any particular challenges they might be facing, to see whether any further assistance could be given.
On receipt of the donations, some spoke emotionally of the challenges faced in caring for the vulnerable from all age groups and backgrounds. They noted that with the ever-increasing need for funding around the globe, the funding from some overseas sources to Grenada has diminished, making the contributions of local companies and citizens to these causes invaluable.
In conclusion, the care institutions present agreed that they would like to make Guardian General aware of how the funds received would be used and also extended an open invitation to the Company to visit with them during 2017.
Guardian General Insurance (OECS) Ltd has donated just under half a million dollars to the care institutions ever since Mr Ronald Hughes began his tenure as Company CEO in 1998. At that time, agreement was reached that the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives should include giving assistance to care institutions, which it acknowledged were struggling for resources to perform the tasks set before them.
