Round 4 of the Acts of Kindness Initiative to provide food vouchers/food hampers to families in Grenada was completed with the provision of 138 food hampers.
To date, 442 families in Grenada benefitted from acts of kindness sown by others. All of the mainland parishes have families who have received assistance with the greatest impact felt in St George (54%) and St John (34%).
The sailing community in Grenada made a significant contribution towards financing Round 4. The Acts of Kindness team is grateful for the continued hard work of the members of the sailing community for both their financial contributions and their dedication to raising awareness of the initiative. We take this opportunity to specially acknowledge Fast Manicou Delivery Service, the Merry Bakery, On the Spot Welding and Jenny’s Farmers Market for their contribution to our efforts. To date, the sailing community and affiliates have provided over $11,000 towards the provision of food hampers. Overall, the Acts of Kindness Initiative has raised over $25,000 of which unused funds from Round 4 will be used to finance the fifth round. Likewise, we are appreciative of the continued partnership of the GUT Credit Union which is using its social media presence to raise awareness of the initiative and which also keeps us informed about persons in need in the community.
We take this opportunity to feature two of our Acts of Kindness Team Members who demonstrate the role of social inclusion in getting through the coronavirus crisis together. As luck would have it our paths crossed with Valetta James, Grand Anse who volunteered to assist us in identifying other persons in need within her community. What makes her special is the fact that she demonstrated that being a person with a disability does not hinder an individual from helping to the best of his or her capacity. She ably identified families in need, and coordinated the redistribution of hampers to them. Valetta’s willingness to volunteer served as the inspiration for the donation of 20 food hampers to the Grenada National Council for the Disabled (GNCD), of which 5 were donated by Hotspot. Hillary Gabriel, Coordinator of the GNCD received the hampers on 22 April 2020 at the Carenage Hotspot for redistribution to the Council’s members.
Our other donor and volunteer is Anaiyah Williams-La Barrie whose 7th birthday party was cancelled due to schools being closed. Anaiyah donated a large quantity of candy which was intended for her piñata, so that other children could have some during this time. She assisted in packaging 42 small bags of candy for distribution. As a result, she became our youngest donor and volunteer, as well as our shortest. Valetta and Anaiyah both demonstrate that we can all step up and make meaningful contributions to help ease the burdens faced by others. Along with our other committed volunteers including Ann Wilson, Lystra Mark, Jeanette Du Bois, Ina Henry, and Lou Mitchell, they exemplify that at the Acts of Kindness team table, there is social inclusion and a seat for everyone who is willing to collaborate to keep the fire of humanitarianism going.
For more information about the Acts of Kindness Initiative and to learn about ways to donate, please send an email to [email protected]. We look forward to more donors coming on board and to creating more strategic partnerships that will result in meaningful impacts in our local communities.
Acts of Kindness
Thank you also to Yacht Brittican for the vhf Cruiser Bingo that raised so many funds for Acts of Kindness and also to Island Water world for their prize donation.