Eden Lodge Charitable Trust helping those in need

By Michron Robinson

Over 400 Barbadian school children stand to benefit from back to school supplies thanks to the Eden Lodge Charitable Trust.

During two recent donations at the Cloister Bookstore Ltd along Hincks Street and at Woolworth along Prince William Street, parents and children who were on the receiving end of school supplies said that they were eternally grateful for the welcome gesture.

Parent of two school children, Rhonda Phillips, who was at Woolworth explained that the donation will go a long way in assisting her household.

“I want to say thank you to the Eden Lodge Youth Charitable Trust. These school uniforms will go a long way,” she said adding that she received a donation last year as well.

“It’s difficult for a lot of parents like myself during these times…after the pandemic a lot of people are unemployed and there are a lot of single mothers out there like myself so it’s very difficult,” she said, adding it could cost her one thousand dollars or more to be able to afford books, shoes and uniforms.

“I can’t do like the rest and go into town and shop. I buy uniforms piece by piece … so yes [I’m very grateful,” she said. New entrant to St Leonards Boys School, Kyle Cumberbatch, said that he was pleased to be selected to receive assistance.

“I feel very happy to have been [presented] with this help and I thank the Eden Lodge Youth Charitable Trust,” he said.

Public relations officer with the trust, Billie-June Langdon, said that the Eden Lodge Youth Charitable Trust started ten years ago with 250 families who needed assistance. However, she said the programme has grown from strength to strength and demand for help has increased exponentially.

“We are supplying over four hundred children in Barbados and the numbers have grown. With the recent spike in COVID-19 and so forth people have been coming to us for even more assistance,” she said

Meanwhile deputy general manager of Cloister Bookstore Robert Griffith said that back to school sales this year are going better than in 2021.

“Back to school this year has been better than last year partly because children and their parents know they are going back to school unlike last year when there was so much uncertainty about when school would start and parents were hesitant about purchasing books,” he explained to Barbados TODAY.

“Now there is a bit more positivity and parents are trying to get the books organized. We are trying to keep the prices down because we know that parents are struggling and we decided this year to cut the margins to keep books affordable,” he said, adding that if the prices of books were compared to 2021, they are now noticeably lower.

“We tried to absorb some of the costs,” Griffith said.