Church volunteers donate funds for school supplies
Church volunteers (L-R) Veronica Evans, Joan Forbes, Olga Ryan, Sheila Thompson and Hermin Bryan. (Missing from the photo is Elsie Myles.)
(CNS): A local church has donated more than CI$8,000 to 10 schools on Grand Cayman to cover needed supplies such as tuition, books, lunch and uniforms for 40 children. Volunteers from the community-services department of the George Town Seventh-day Adventist Church recently organised a fish fry to raise the funds.
When accepting the cheque for distribution to schools, Chief Education Officer Lyneth Monteith thanked the church on behalf of the Department of Education Services and the Ministry of Education “for its generosity in helping our students and their parents to prepare for the new school year”, and added, “It is commendable that the church supports ventures such as these and I am sure that the families are very appreciative of the support.”
Elsie Myles, who coordinated the team of volunteers, said they had become aware of the back-to-school needs of children while engaged in other community-service activities. The George Town church also operates a soup kitchen and delivers about 500 cups of soup weekly to shut-ins, a group comprising mainly elderly and infirm persons. The department also delivers 80 food bags each month.
“My children are now grown, and as a mom, I know what it feels like when children do not have all the necessary resources to enable them to take full advantage of education,” Myles said. “As we became aware of these needs while interacting with the community, my team and I felt that we had to do something to help.”
This concern led to the fish fry held at the George Town Adventist Church during which some 500 pounds of fish were served up with the usual sides.
“The whole team came out and worked diligently,” Myles said, adding, “We were delighted to have the community-services team from the North Side Church, who came to assist with this very worthy cause.”
Myles also spoke of the personal gratification that comes from such initiatives. “Our reward is the satisfaction of knowing that the present and future lives of many children will be that much better because we cared enough to make a difference,” she said.
She thanked the community and church family for their support of fundraising events, adding, “Let us continue to change lives through Christian services.”
