The Grenada Kidney Foundation is one of several organisations that has received financial assistance from a special partnership between the National Lotteries Authority (NLA) and Canadian Bank Note Company (CBN).
A total of EC$110,000 has been donated to local charities.
CBN is a Canadian security printing company that prints the tickets for the NLA. It holds contracts with the Bank of Canada to supply it with Canada’s paper currency. The company’s other clients include private businesses, national and sub-national governments, Central banks and postal services from around the world. In addition to bank notes, the company produces passports, driver’s licences, birth certificates, postage stamps, coupons, and many other security-conscious document-related products. CBN also prints and provides document reading systems for identification cards, lottery tickets, stamps, and bank notes.
Simon Wall, a director of CBN, said the financial assistance is the just a small way of giving back to the community which it serves.
Geoffrey Gilbert, NLA General Manager, said that EC$110,000 was contributed by CBN. “Of course there were some stipulated terms and conditions established by the NLA to qualify and ultimately access these funds.”
Distribution of funds began during the 2013 Christmas season with EC$40,000 in food hampers distributed. The Kidney Foundation received EC$10,000; the General Hospital EC$35,000; the Scouts and Guides organisations EC$2,500 each; the Mirabeau Hospital X-Ray Machine Project EC$5,000; the Sickle Cell Association EC$5,000 and HIV Care and Treatment and Oncology Care EC$5,000 each.
The presentations were witnessed by members of the Board of Directors of the NLA and officials from CBN.
Speaking on behalf of the recipients, Ann David-Antoine said that they were all very grateful and that the money will be used to assist to improve the conditions of all who seek support from the respective entities. She said that in the case of the hospitals, the funds will be used to assist in the shipping of donations to the hospital.
By Linda Straker
