For Her Support Of Children, Shenika Is “The One”

After several years of successfully coordinating an annual back to school drive for children in need across Barbados, Shenika Hinds is Republic Bank’s Be The One Staff Initiative winner.

She received 73% of the votes for her work in creating and maintaining the Centralised Credit Unit’s Back to School Drive and has received $2,500 to support her efforts.

After the announcement at the Broad Street Branch where she works, the smiling Hinds thanked her colleagues for nominating and voting for her as well as for their substantial contributions to the drive over the years.

“It really does make a difference to the children who are identified by the Barbados Child Care Board who are in need. It really goes a long way. Over the last couple of years we have seen more people who are in need and this donation will help to go even further,” she said.

Hinds explained that about four years ago, she teamed up with two of her departmental colleagues to find a way to give back to the community. They settled on supporting children and eventually began working with the Barbados Child Care Board to help children in need. This led to the development of the back to school drive. “The reception was very, very good at first. The donations flowed in. We took in monetary donations and physical donations based on the list that was provided by the Barbados Child Care Board,” she said

Hinds explained that the support has continued even as the need has grown. Over the years, she has collected both monetary donations and items such as backpacks, lunch bags, stationery and more for the children. She said representatives of the Barbados Child Care Board have always expressed gratitude for the donations.

Republic Bank’s new Manager, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Mischa Knight, praised Hinds as well as her fellow Broad Street Branch nominee, Dario Braithwaite for their philanthropic work.

“I hope that seeing this presentation will inspire others in the Bank to do more out there in our community,” she said.

Meanwhile, General Manager, Retail and Operations, Sharon Zephirin, stated that both Hinds and Brathwaite were winners in everyone’s eyes.

She urged more Barbadians to adopt the spirit of the initiative and find ways to “Be The One” to do some good within their communities.

“This call is for a national movement, for us to take Be The One to the next level and for us to see ‘how best in my life I can do better and assist others, and see some improvement in their life as well’,” she said.

She added, “The call is for us to look at all the areas in the community that may require some attention, and look to see where there is a need and make that change today.”

The #BETHEONE initiative originated in Trinidad & Tobago and was adopted by Republic Bank (Barbados) Limited in 2019. This is the second year that the Bank is running a staff initiative. There is also a community-based component that seeks to identify and celebrate people in communities across Barbados who are doing good deeds and contribute to their causes. The nomination process for this component concluded recently and voting is underway to elect the 2022 Champion.