Barbados legion gets a helping hand from CIBC FirstCaribbean

What started out as a courtesy call and a request for direction on the setting up of their website to make it e-commerce enabled, turned out to be pleasant surprise for two members of the Barbados Legion.

Retirees Major Charles Brathwaite and Major John Sealy recently visited CIBC FirstCaribbean to see the CEO Designate Mark St. Hill to discuss some of the needs of the Legion. They explained that the organisation looks after between 400 and 450 persons who have served in past wars including a few who are World War II veterans, many of whom are now destitute and in need of medical treatment of some form or other. Some of them require repairs to their homes.

The two past officers further clarified that the annual poppy appeal, which is run by a separate committee, has seen a decrease in donations for the red flower, and so the team headed by Major Brathwaite has had to find new ways of raising money to meet the needs of the organisation.

One idea was to get visitors to the legion’s web page, which is found as a part of the Barbados Defence Force’s (BDF) website, to donate to the cause to help the island’s legionnaires. The other idea is to sell memorabilia and souvenirs that people can purchase from the website. For both of these initiatives, they sought the input and direction of St. Hill and his team.

The big surprise came when he offered two members of the CIBC FirstCaribbean team to work with the committee to get the e-commerce side of their site mobilised in a secure digital environment. Then he presented them with a cheque for $2,000 BDS to boost the fund for the Legionnaires. He further added icing to the cake, when he offered a donation banner on the log-on page of the CIBC FirstCaribbean online banking, which is used by over 70,000 clients of the bank. This will appear for a period of two months – November when the island celebrates Remembrance Day, honouring those who served and those who gave their lives in the wars, and December.

In making the presentation, the incoming CEO, said that the bank recognised the need to help the Poppy League and the Barbados Legion. On a personal level he added: “My step grandfather was in the war, so I fully understand what the Legion is doing and how necessary it is, especially in the present environment. I am also discovering that we have a number of employees who volunteer to help both as reserves for the BDF and to sit on the Poppy League Committee so I am doubly glad that we can assist the members of the Legion, who are now in their twilight years, but who have served this country so well.”

Accepting the contribution, Major Brathwaite expressed his thanks for the generous donation and explained, “it will go a long way to help our veterans and hopefully will encourage other agencies and corporate organisations to help.” (PR)