Spreading hope at Christmas

Championing the cause in youth and community work, the At-risk Youth Foundation continues to demonstrate its commitment to people-care through well coordinated humanitarian services.

This year, with the help of civicminded individuals and organizations, the staff and volunteers of the non-profit charity implemented its eighth consecutive Christmas Hamper Project, which originally started in 2014. As anticipated, the demand from vulnerable youth and families for assistance increased. This was partly due to the impact of COVID-19 on the finances of some households.

“For us at the Foundation, the Christmas Hamper Project is more than simply giving out foodstuff. It is about visiting and checking in on the members of our community and giving moral support and hope at a time when some people are grappling with the loss of loved ones, jobs or even the will to persevere,” said Dr Lisa Jaggernauth, Founding Director.

The win-win of volunteerism continues to be a beneficial tool for shaping young minds in the practice of brotherly love while reaching out to community residents. Some students from the University of the West Indies, through the National Give Back Programme along with other volunteers, collected food items, packed and distributed the hampers to just over 300 families across Christ Church West on Christmas eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Just a few weeks earlier, the Charity donated ipads and routers to the Founding Director’s former school, Arthur Smith Primary, to assist students in need of electronic devices.

One overarching goal of Dr Lisa Jaggernauth is to create a youth-friendly community-based environment that provides social and financial development opportunities for young people. (PR)