THE Guyana Red Cross Society, under its `Wreath of Smiles’ project, has collaborated with the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) to put smiles on the faces of several less-fortunate children in the Haruni community, on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway for the Christmas holidays. The gifts will be distributed next Wednesday.

According to GBTI’s Marketing and Communications Officer, Ms Nadia De Abreu, the banking institution has, at the request of the Red Cross, for a number of years been assisting in putting smiles on the faces of some 150 children between the ages of one and14 years. She said it has been a pleasure for the bank to be a part of the Christmas activity. It has been doing so over the years, adding that the response has been heart-warming. She expressed appreciation to the staff for warmly reaching out to the children who are in need.

The project starts with the Red Cross sending 135 gift cards to GBTI, each containing the name, age, and gender of a child and each tag is hung on a huge, Christmas Tree that is attractively decorated and on display in the foyer .

Bank employees and even persons visiting to conduct business, are encouraged to select a tag and purchase a gift for the child whose name, age and gender is written on the tag. While there is a ceiling cost to the gifts, the donors are asked not to include guns or weapons as gifts.

The donor, after purchasing the gift, is required to have it wrapped and returned to the bank by a particular date and it is placed under the Christmas Tree.

On Thursday, Ms Samesta Martin-Forde, a field officer attached to the Red Cross , spearheaded the collection of the beautifully-wrapped gifts. She expressed gratitude, on behalf of the organization, to the banking institution for their selfless act over the years.
In addition to being presented with the gifts, the children will also be provided with snacks, Martin-Forde added.