Republic Bank, Rotaract present "RotaGift" to Women’s Shelter

Barbadians’ warm generosity has helped to make Christmas and the new year look a little brighter for women and children housed at the Business & Professional Women’s Club’s (BPWC) shelter for battered women.

Representatives from both the Rotaract Club of Barbados and Republic Bank were on hand at the Luther Thorne Memorial School on Saturday to present a large donation of food and household items to the shelter.

This year, Republic Bank partnered with the Rotaract Club of Barbados for the first time to work on the annual “RotaGift” initiative. Donation bins were placed in the Bank’s Six Roads, Broad Street and Warrens branches and Barbadians were encouraged to give to the shelter.

“We were more than overwhelmed with what we got,” said Director of Community Service for the Rotaract Club of Barbados, Melanie Goodridge.

Given how challenging this year has been for so many people, the Director said, “It was warming to know that Bajans still had that heart to give, so we did reach some of our goals and it was overwhelming what we did receive.”

Speaking to the partnership with the Bank, Goddard said, “It was great! It was unorthodox for us to have bins in banks as opposed to supermarkets but I think we have now fostered a relationship that can serve us well in the future, not only for projects like these but for other things that we might want to do in the community over the next few years.”

She added: “Thank you to Barbados and to Republic Bank for partnering with us even at a late stage. We are extremely grateful. The team at the shelter who came to collect were overwhelmed, they were grateful, they were so thankful for what we were able to do.“

Republic Bank’s Marketing Officer, Communications & Customer Service, Sharon Howell, said the Bank is happy to have assisted with the RotaGift. She said, “This falls squarely within the mandate of our Corporate Social Responsibility programme, Power to Make a Difference. The shelter offers tremendous support to women and their children who need a safe place to heal and to chart a course towards a better future. We are delighted to have partnered with Rotaract to make this donation possible.”

President of the BPWC, Nicole Alleyne-Phillips-Ayikpa said the needs that the organization had expressed were indeed met by the generous donation.

“BPW Barbados and the women and children in the shelter express our sincere gratitude and thanks for those who would have given out of their storehouses, even though they might not have had a lot. We want to thank those who deliberately and intentionally gave and we pray that they would have an increase in their finances and in every area of their life for 2021 because when you give to the poor, grace and peace are extended to you. So we want to extend that from a spiritual perspective back to those individuals and even those who intended to give but couldn’t, we pray that for the coming year, their barn houses and their financial purses will be blessed because it is also the thought that counts and we are grateful for everything,” she said.