Inspired by the message of charity and hope of the recent holiday season, the staff and management at CIBC FirstCaribbean's Shirley Street branch came together to give hope to five single-mother homes in need, through the bank's "Adopt-a-Cause" program.
The Shirley Street branch reached out to the Department of Social Services in New Providence to provide gift certificates to Solomon's Supercenter for grocery items and other necessities to five of the program's underprivileged families, one from each of the Social Services five centers.
"CIBC FirstCaribbean as an organization knows the importance of giving back and having a presence throughout the community. We wanted to show some support to these women through this great cause and hope that it will bring joy to their families," said Sean Blyden, senior branch manager, Shirley Street.
According to the Department of Statistics, poverty is increasing, with 13 percent of the population living below the poverty line -- less than $4,247 per year -- and women and children are feeling the impact most. With this in mind, the five recipients selected were all single mothers receiving aid from the government.
At the presentation of the gift certificates, the mothers were overwhelmed with emotion, one mother to the point of tears.
Wendy Clarke, of the Department of Social Services, expressed her gratitude to CIBC FirstCaribbean. She said that one of the mothers has seven children and the donation was of great help to them all.
"These donations alleviated a burden on Social Services, which would normally have provided the family with a food coupon. Assistance from corporate Bahamas allows [Social Services] to assist more families. The generous donation from CIBC FirstCaribbean allowed the mothers to afford items they may not usually be able to afford," she said. "Ever since the recession began in 2008, the number of persons coming to Social Services has increased. Many are not who you would expect -- even persons with college degrees. However, women and children are the majority of our clients."
Clarke thanked CIBC FirstCaribbean for their kind donation.
Adopt-a-Cause is a unique CIBC FirstCaribbean program that encourages staff to identify projects in their immediate surroundings and become involved in the community. The bank promotes cooperation and human effort rather than purely financial resources, to make a positive difference and give back to the community.
Through the efforts of employees in the Adopt-a-Cause program, CIBC FirstCaribbean supports nearly 100 causes throughout the Caribbean every year including projects with schools, nongovernmental organizations, charities and other interest groups.
Each branch and office throughout the network is assigned $1,000 to assist with getting its project off the ground. Units sometimes combine resources to tackle projects of similar interest for maximum impact.
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