Rotaract pays it forward

AT Christmas time, much thought is given to persons who might need that extra cheer and the Rotaract Club of Georgetown- Central has made it their duty each year to spread some cheer.

According to the Assistant Director of Community Service, Laurel Dundas, “Rotaract, in general, is focused on community service and personal development.”

But specifically during the merry season, President of the Club, Chricell Whitney highlighted: “We try to spread out and spread as much cheer as possible at Christmas time.”

She related that during this time, the club usually visits orphanages or elderly homes because the members believe that these persons would need the extra cheer.

Whether it was at the Ruimveldt Children’s Home and Care Centre or the Bright Horizon Family Home in Kuru Kururu, the club and its members would ensure that the gifts are ready, the carolers are ready to sing and their cheer is effusive.

What they also do, according to the President, is actually research to find out what places have a great need or are less served and they go there to leave their mark!

“Doing research this year and trying to find out where the need is the most, we found an article written and it sparked an interest on Plastic City,” Whitney said.

Focusing on achieving its mandate to serve the community, Dundas explained that the Christmas project this year, called “Deck the Halls”, reached out to the children in Plastic City.

Plastic City is a little squatter settlement off the Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara foreshore and Dundas related that members of the group actually walked around the entire community (twice!) so that they could ascertain what service would be most impactful and how many children should be catered for.

As such, the club was able to cater for 150 children of all ages and fete them on December 22 with games and a gift-giving exercise. The aim was also to give clothing to families, all in an effort to spread Christmas cheer and provide some relief.

“We chose Plastic City because usually, the clubs would concentrate on Georgetown because it is very accessible,” Dundas explained too.

Additionally, she noted: “We thought it would be a very meaningful project at the time because Christmas is usually a time especially for the children.”

But as an NGO, the support of any such venture depends largely on the support received, the President explained.

“Donations were a bit slow in the beginning owing to few challenges faced with establishing partnerships when the project was launched but those were surmounted,” Whitney said.

And the group was able to pull off a massive project this year once more!