Dozens of students receive back-to-school bags

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Fifty primary school students were gifted with back-to-school packages, compliments of the Rotary Club of Antigua and three of its corporate partners — Digicel Antigua, Harney Motors and the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU).

The students, who attend Golden Grove, Jennings, Freetown, Buckley’s and CT Samuel primary schools, were presented with essential supplies, backpacks and uniform vouchers. The vouchers are redeemable at Happy Kids store, which also supported the initiative. 

Ten youngsters from Cedar Grove Primary School also received uniform vouchers from the Rotary Club.

The monetary donations from Digicel Antigua and Harney Motors amounted to $10,000, while the CIU donated books, pencils and other stationery items. 

Digicel Antigua was represented by its marketing manager Cherisse Adams and CEO Joanna Spencer, while Leslie Barnes was the marketing representative present for Harney Motors.

Both Adams and Barnes expressed pleasure at being associated with the initiative as many households are still grappling with financial challenges as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Rotary President, Kevin Silston, said that the ongoing effort to develop corporate relationships is extremely important to the work of the club, whose finances have been severely affected this year by the absence of its major fundraiser, Colours Fete.

Silston also thanked both companies for their generous donations and wished the students a successful semester in their respective classes.  

Meanwhile, in preparation for Caribbean Wellness Day, which will be commemorated on September 12, each school was presented with a case of Oasis water, donated by Premier Beverages.  

Caribbean Wellness Day is celebrated by Caricom countries on the second Saturday in September each year to promote health and prevent and manage the high incidence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). 

This year, the focus will be on eliminating childhood obesity, which also is an area of focus for Rotary District Governor, Lisle Chase. 

The RCA president also urged principals and teachers to encourage children to drink more water and to eliminate sugary drinks and sweets from their diet.

“This is critical in our fight against childhood obesity,” he stressed.  

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