The staff of the Freeport Branch of CIBC FirstCaribbean recently donated their time and talent to assist the Reach Out Community Centre in Grand Bahama. The eager bunch of volunteers dedicated a weekend to spend time with the boys at the centre and to repair and renovate the space. The bank also provided the organisation with a donation toward supplies for the daily operations and renovation project.

The volunteers painted the interior and exterior of the community centre building, rebuilt the centre’s stage and tidied and organized the library with the assistance of the centre’s students. To Ms. Patrice Russell, Wealth Associate at CIBC FirstCaribbean and organizer of the initiative, this interactive component set the volunteering experience apart.

“Staff interaction with the boys at the centre was really the highlight,” she said. “The hands-on approach to completing each task provided the CIBC FirstCaribbean volunteers with the opportunity to share a particular skill and to work with a young man who was eager to learn.” She said the CIBC FirstCaribbean staff decided to give back to Reach Out Grand Bahama because they felt that the positive impact that the organization makes perfectly reflects the bank’s philanthropic goals and their own.

“The staff chose to support Reach Out Grand Bahama based on the significant influence the organization has on the male youth in the community. Their focus and goals directly contribute to improvements in juvenile delinquency and we believe in the social and economic impact that brings. Reach Out Grand Bahama is making the community stronger and setting an example for other at-risk boys to follow, and we want to be a part of that.”

She continued “Our members appreciated the fact that Mr. Seide by way of practice ensures that the boys learned how and what to do, and we were just as proud to share our knowledge. It was an overall good experience, and we hope to return in the future.”

Reach Out Grand Bahama is a non-profit organization established by Mr. Dudley Seide to assist at-risk male youth. The organization offers after school programs, back to school drives, annual prison visits and their banner program is the annual basketball camp and tournament.

Additionally, the centre facilitates community service via the Magistrates’ Courts by assisting first time offenders with counselling and opportunities for community service. The centre “students” are pushed academically and athletically to develop the skills needed to complete high school, pursue college and eventually attain gainful employment.

Mr. Seide, stated that the organisation was very grateful for the assistance from CIBC FirstCaribbean and also hoped that the relationship was one that continues to grow.

“We would like to say thank you to the volunteers from CIBC FirstCaribbean who took time out to give back to us,” he said. “We also thank them for their generous donation that will go a long way in assisting us with purchasing supplies for our building project. The kids really enjoyed working along with you all and we look forward to your group coming back! We are able to continue our work thanks to the donations and volunteer assistance from corporate sponsors like CIBC FirstCaribbean.”

About CIBC FirstCaribbean

CIBC FirstCaribbean is the largest, regionally-listed bank in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean serving over 500,000 accounts in 17 markets, through 2,900 staff, across 100 branches and offices. The bank offers a full range of market-leading financial services in: Corporate and Investment Banking, Treasury Sales and Trading, Retail Banking, Wealth Management, Small Business and Credit Cards.

CIBC FirstCaribbean is a member of the CIBC Group. CIBC (TSX, NYSE: CM) is a leading North American financial institution serving clients in Canada and around the world. Through three distinct business lines, Retail and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Wholesale Banking, CIBC provides a full range of products and services to almost 11 million individual, small business and commercial banking clients and meets the financial needs of corporate and institutional clients.

For more information about CIBC FirstCaribbean, visit www.cibcfcib.com