16 local charities receive financial support from the Canadian Women’s Club
The Canadian Women’s Club of Barbados yesterday disbursed close to $100,000 to 16 local charities that work directly with the elderly, women and children.
Community Services Chairperson Ann Smith told Barbados TODAY that the club continues to see the importance of assisting the charities which touch the lives of many, particularly at a time when there is tremendous need throughout the island.
The monies came primarily from the club’s annual golf tournament which raised approximately $90,000 this year.
The 2018 beneficiaries are the Barbados Council for the Disabled, the Barbados Diabetes Association, Burnscar garment and Orthotic Fund for children, the BPW Shelter for Abused Women, Camp Aquarius, Cancer Support Services, Caribbean Dyslexia Association, the Diabetes Association of Barbados, the Family Welfare Society, the HIV/AIDS Food Bank, Nature Fun Ranch, the Paediatric Department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), the QEH Play Room, The Learning Centre, the St Vincent de Paul – Central Council and the Substance Abuse Foundation.
“When I joined the club I inherited a number of charities that the club had previously worked with. Since then a number of charities have been added [and] there is a very thorough investigation involved in the selection process because we get a lot of applications,” Smith said.
She made special mention of the Nature Fun Ranch, founded by Corey Lane, stressing that organizations such as these change societies.
“I visited the ranch myself and saw the number of young people, specifically young men, and thought, ‘my gosh, these are young men that would have been on the block had it not been for this organization’, but here they are, learning all sort of things,” she said.
Smith also praised the many charities which provided key essentials for families, which are the foundation of any society.
Canada’s High Commissioner to Barbados Marie Legault lauded the efforts made not only by the charities, but the Canadian Women’s Club of Barbados. (KH)
Is the Minister of Education going to tell these Canadian Women’s Club members to stop meddling with Barbados’s social programmes, and undermining his government’s mantra, that “Barbados is not only an economy it is a society.”