Salvation Army recognises increased demand for services Loop Barbados

Black Immigrant Daily News

With more Barbadian families requiring charitable assistance, locals are being urged to help the Salvation Army reach its target of $750, 000 this Christmas.

Chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, Paul Bernstein mentioned the increased demand for the charity’s services during the launch of the Christmas Kettle Appeal today at Heroes Square.

“We have a lot to do and we need your support to do it. Our target this year is $750, 000 and we hope with your generosity to exceed that amount. I am making a special appeal to the business community, especially the manufacturers and retailers to please support this worthy cause. And, let me assure you once again that the Salvation Army uses 85 cents in every dollar received to provide direct services to people in need,” Bernstein said.

The Salvation Army chairman disclosed that from January to the end of September, 212 persons received educational books, 100 families received back-to-school assistance, 46 persons received household furnishings, 1,870 received clothing, 5,300 people food hampers and 32, 456 hot meals were served through the charity’s Feeding Programme.

During Christmas, the charity will be donating 4,000 food hampers to families in need and also delivering Christmas gifts to children’s homes, senior citizens and the less fortunate.

“We are hopefully approaching the end of this serious COVID-19 pandemic which unfortunately has caused major hardship within our community and by extension has put more financial pressure on us as we try as much as possible to assist all of those in need.”

Deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Mark Franklin also attended the launch and shared that the Ministry recognised a spike in clientele at the Welfare Department.

“We are all aware of the challenges confronting our economy and indeed our society as a whole. We all feel the effects of rising food and gas prices and have all witnessed the reverse impact that recently occurring disasters such as the 2021 freak storm and Hurricane Elsa, have had on already vulnerable households. Collectively, these challenges are resulting in an increased number of families experiencing difficulty in making ends meet and that are having to access services of organisations like yours.

Like the Salvation Army, we at the Ministry have seen significant uptakes in both individuals and households needing various types of assistance especially grants that are provided to social agencies like the Welfare Department,” Franklin indicated.

He suggested that collaboration between charities was pertinent towards empowering vulnerable families and lauded the Salvation Army for their continued support, especially during the pandemic. He called for assistance in the Ministry’s 1000 families initiative which aims to help impoverished families.

Franklin also recommended that NGOs partner with the Ministry to further discuss disaster management and address the “needs of as many people as possible”.

“We must continue to partner with each other in order to reach and address the needs of as many persons as possible. Cooperation and collaboration in disaster management is an area that we further need to explore

I do hope within the short term we can meet to further discuss and develop appropriate response plans for how we can help vulnerable persons in the event that we are impacted by another national disaster,” he continued.

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