DCFS plays Santa for needy families
DCFS staff (L-R) Tina Ebanks, Leanora Wynter-Young and Felicia Robinson with some of the many Christmas donations
(CNS Local Life): The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), in partnership with businesses and private citizens, has once again held its annual Christmas gift drive for those children and families that may not have been able to purchase gifts for the holidays. This year the donors’ generosity exceeded all expectations, with the department receiving dozens of presents and one gift of nearly $10,000 from a local company.
Donations of toys, clothing, food hampers, bikes, tablets, gift certificates, cash and packaged presents poured in to the department’s offices from 17 donor companies, individuals and schools, stated a press release.
This year the programme started in early November with the department’s corporate and community partners contacting its coordination team to register what they wanted to donate or to ask what was needed by the mid-December deadline.
DCFS social workers and community development staff then inventoried all donations received, matching them to the needs or wish lists of their clients in each district.
All gifts received at the DCFS offices were then distributed by staff up to a week before Christmas with many donors specifying they would sponsor either families, groups of children or items from the DCFS Christmas list or the children’s wish lists. Others set up giving trees, gift drives and donation drives to meet their commitment.
Broadcaster Cayman 27 hosted a Christmas for Kids party with food, crafts and games earlier this month, before taking children to the cinema. Hurley’s Media’s sales campaign also raised $9,137 for the department to buy gifts for Cayman Brac residents and children in care.
“The DCFS Christmas gift drive was a tremendous success this year with donors giving generously in larger amounts than ever before,” said DCFS Director Felicia Robinson. “I’d like to commend them for heartwarming generosity and thank my staff who organised the drive, which is always a major logistical undertaking in terms of coordination, collection, collation and distribution of donor gifts. This annual initiative goes a long way in ensuring our clients and their families enjoy a happy and memorable holiday.”
