Today, BTC launched its text-to-donate campaign, which provides a platform for persons wishing to donate money to support hurricane relief efforts. All funds will go to the Ranfurly Home for Children.
BTC, CEO, Garry Sinclair said, “We are working two tracks in the aftermath of this “Black Swan” event – humanitarian and restoration and recovery. From a humanitarian standpoint, our first priority was to successfully secure our 103 colleagues and their families on both islands. Today, we launched the text-to-donate campaign to raise funds for the Ranfurly Home for Children, which has opened its doors to welcome 23 children who were evacuated. We have also undertaken and supported several relief and restoration efforts. “
BTC customers will receive a text message with a link directing them to the landing page for donations. Customers can donate as little as $1 and are able to donate as many times as they wish. Funds will be deducted from prepaid balances or added to postpaid bills. The link will also be shared on the company’s social media pages, and customers are being encouraged to share the link with their family and friends so that they too, have an opportunity to donate.
Mr. Alexander Roberts, Administrator for the Ranfurly Home for Children said, “Prior to Hurricane Dorian, our count was twenty-three children. We have since welcomed an additional twenty-three children from Freeport, bringing our total to forty-six. They are settling in well and we are grateful for the outpouring of support from the local and international communities. We are working to have all of them placed in school this week. This is quite likely going to be a long-term commitment, so we hope and pray that the support will continue to come in as we provide a caring environment for our displaced children.”
Immediately following Hurricane Dorian, the Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation committed US$500,000 towards relief and rebuilding supplies. US$75,000 will be provided to NEMA for immediate assistance and US$25,000 will be distributed to World Central Kitchen to assist with providing hot meals for residents in both affected islands daily. During the first week, the company provided over 55,000 pounds of groceries and relief supplies to communities in Abaco and Grand Bahama. BTC also provided over 220 generators, ten of which were donated to the Emergency Room doctors at the Rand Memorial Hospital.
BTC is also heavily focused on its restoration work. Over the weekend, services were restored in Moore’s Island and Disney’s Castaway Cay, Abaco. Thus far, the company has made significant inroads with restoring services throughout Grand Bahama and Abaco. Mobile services have been restored in several key areas in Grand Bahama, including: Freeport, Lewis Yard, Coral Reef Estates, Chesapeake, Our Lucaya Indoor, South Bahamia West, Midshipman Road, West End, Eight Mile Rock, Taino Beach, Our Lucaya Hotel, The Container Port, Bootle Bay West, and the Office of the Prime Minister. Landline services are available in Bootle Bay, Eight Mile Rock, Lincoln Green, Oceanside Triangle, Rooster’s, The Shipyard, West End, and Ocean Hill.
“As of last Friday, we have restored services to an additional 800 landline customers in Grand Bahama and our teams are working aggressively to continue restoring services on that island. We are working closely with the local power company, and as power is reconnected, this allows us to restore landline and Internet services,” Sinclair continued.
In Abaco, services have been restored to the Marsh Harbour Airport site and services continue to be fully functional in South Abaco including Sandy Point, Casuarina, Bahama Palm, Cherokee Sound, and Crossing Rock. Landline services are available in Cedar Harbour and Sandy Point.
