Rotary Club delivers Christmas hampers despite sponsorship challenges

Two hundred hampers containing food and sanitary items were distributed to communities across Barbados on Saturday, as the Rotary Club of Barbados South continued its annual Christmas giving tradition, albeit at a reduced scale due to funding constraints.

Members of the club, alongside Rotaractors from South Barbados and other volunteers, gathered at 6 a.m., at Guardian Group Headquarters, Collymore Rock, to pack the seasonal donations.

President-elect Jacklyn Broomes, who led this year’s initiative, noted that 2024 had proved “one of the more challenging years in obtaining corporate sponsorship”, though she expressed gratitude to those sponsors who had supported the project.

The Christmas hamper distribution, which began in 2006, typically provides up to 250 packages annually.

“The Rotary Club of Barbados South has been conducting this event annually as a way to give back to the less fortunate,” said Club President Terry Hall, explaining that recipients are selected from a list developed by club members in consultation with community social care partners.

The organisation’s charitable work extends beyond the festive season, with similar hamper distributions taking place on both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. The club also partners with the Rotary Club of Barbados West to provide 110 meals monthly to homeless people in Bridgetown, whilst supporting the Barbados Red Cross’s Meals on Wheels programme, delivering food to housebound elderly residents.

(PR)