New car, equipment for PCH
Posted by Tanis Wake-Forbes
on Jun 18, 2009
Rotary club of Providenciales teams up with partner club in North Carolina to supply critical goods, vehicle to Provo Children's Home
JUNE 18, 2009 – The Rotary Club of Providenciales is nearing completion of a donation of a wide variety of essential goods and a vehicle to the Provo Children's Home (PCH) this week. The items were initially part of a support program for the original PCH, but became even more important when the old home was destroyed in last fall's hurricanes. The goods have been provided to the children and care givers in their temporary locations being used by the PCH. The donation was made possible through the local Rotary Club's partnership with the Rotary Club of High Point, North Carolina (USA), which together raised funds totaling almost $25,000 for the purchase of much needed goods and a vehicle to transport children to school and other activities.
JUNE 18, 2009 – The Rotary Club of Providenciales is nearing completion of a donation of a wide variety of essential goods and a vehicle to the Provo Children's Home (PCH) this week. The items were initially part of a support program for the original PCH, but became even more important when the old home was destroyed in last fall's hurricanes. The goods have been provided to the children and care givers in their temporary locations being used by the PCH. The donation was made possible through the local Rotary Club's partnership with the Rotary Club of High Point, North Carolina (USA), which together raised funds totaling almost $25,000 for the purchase of much needed goods and a vehicle to transport children to school and other activities.
The donation includes a wide variety of school equipment, uniforms, clothes, toiletries, linens, housewares, office and study equipment and furnishings currently lacking for the children. It also includes a 2005 Dodge Neon car for the care givers to use in transporting the children to medical appointments, after school activities, shopping trips but more importantly now it helps ease the burden of transportation costs and time between the two temporary locations.
Currently, the residents of the program are living in interim housing accommodations at the SNAP Center and a private residence as construction begins on a new facility to accommodate children at risk in Turks & Caicos.
"Community support is the lifeline for the PCH organization and Rotary has been at the forefront of our efforts. We can't thank enough the members of our local Rotary Club, the Rotary Club in North Carolina and Rotarians around the world who in some way helped make this donation happen. It has provided essential goods and transportation for our children and care givers and made a big impact on helping the kids live a normal life under the circumstances," said Jaime Hedges, one of the care givers at PCH.
The two Rotary Clubs each raised funds in their local communities and also tapped into the strength of the Rotary International organization to augment the fundraising, which included funds donated by both club's regional District organizations as well as Rotary International central charitable fund, called The Rotary Foundation (TRF). The Rotary Club of High Point coordinated the purchase of the vehicle, which was made possible through the generosity of a member of that club's ownership of a local car dealership. They also donated items from their members for the children.
"It's important that we try to instill a sense of self-pride and normalcy into these children's lives, even though they are living in extremely challenging conditions. In addition to providing for basic daily living needs, the Psychologist who is the clinical supervisor for the Home, has emphasized the importance of providing the children with their own clothing, school equipment and other personal belongings to address low self-esteem issues so this is a huge benefit to them," said Tanis Wake-Forbes, the local Rotarian who spearheaded the initiative. "I am proud of the impact Rotary can have, especially when we tap into the international scope and strength of the organization. Our partner club in North Carolina has been instrumental in making this happen, and we received tremendous support from the local business community and government here in Provo to help with both raising funds, as well as the logistics of getting the donated items here."
The Rotary Club of Providenciales thanks the strong local support it received for the project, including:
Tropical Shipping in Florida who provided, through Kristof Lingier of Providenciales, the freight for the car and other goods for the Home at a very reduced cost which allowed more funds to be spent on the Home.
Stanley Bassett of SAB Brokers cleared all the items free of charge
Richard Garland of Road Traffic assisted with covering the licensing and registration of the vehicle.
Tony Lancaster of The Insurance Center who ensured we had full insurance cover on the vehicle at cost.
Terry Selver of HM Customs waiving duty on the goods and vehicle.
About The Provo Children's Home
The Provo Children's Home provides a home to orphans and children at risk. Currently there are nine children being supported in the split temporary facility, which unfortunately cannot accept more children due to lack of space. Plans are well underway for the construction of a new purpose-built facility in the Chalk Sound area of Providenciales that will offer safe, nurturing and comfortable living conditions for up to 20 full time residents and some emergency/overnight accommodations. The private home is supported by the TCI Government and the Community and fund raising is at the forefront of the PCH Build Group's agenda as they hope to break ground in July 2009. For more information on how the public, visitors and business community can assist please visit www.pch.tc.