PRESS RELEASE – LOCAL Not-for-Profit organisations The Salvation Army Child Care Centre and Faces of Cancer St. Lucia are both looking forward to the financial support they are to receive from proceeds from Vibes on the Island, a benefit concert put on by the Sandals Foundation.
The Salvation Army Child Care Centre, located in Castries, is in need of major upgrades to meet the requirements of the Ministry of Health and the needs of the children it serves. The centre and school are part of the expansive community-related programmes offered by the Salvation Army in St. Lucia. The centre caters to children between 0 – 5 years old from the inner city community and has a current student population of over 60. They receive day-care services and early childhood education from a small team of five teachers.
Chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, Malcolm Burns, said the support of the Sandals Foundation will further facilitate the operations of the Salvation Army Child Care Centre for the benefit of the communities they serve.
“The Salvation Army is most grateful to the Sandals Foundation for including the Salvation Army Child Care Centre as one of the beneficiaries of the upcoming charity concert. We provide day-care and pre-school facilities to families who would not otherwise have the opportunity to engage in gainful employment and many of whom are financially disadvantaged and so the Salvation Army is greatly appreciative of this timely assistance,” Burns said.
Proceeds from the concert will go towards the renovation of the day-care area, kitchenette, computer room and sick bay. This will include the installation of doors, burglar bars, dry walls, a gate and dressing and painting of the walls.
The other charity to benefit from the event, Faces of Cancer St. Lucia was started by breast cancer survivor Dorothy Phillip in 2009. She had seen the need for a cancer support group to assist patients and their families going through the difficult journey. In 2011, Faces of Cancer created a second group within the banana belt known as Faces of Cancer Mabouya Valley which serves the Dennery area and its environs. The institution caters to all types of cancer patients, survivors and their caregivers.
“Cancer is no longer a death sentence, we now have a growing number of people living with cancer, however cancer still remains a very expensive disease and sadly because of limited resources, we still see many premature deaths among cancer patients and also many patients being diagnosed with late stage cancer. The work that we do help St. Lucian’s to be better informed about the disease and their choices and offer them much needed support,” Phillip said.
Proceeds from Vibes on the Island will go towards constructing a space to help expand the facility for the organisation to provide its services which include grief counselling, emotional and spiritual counselling and basic screenings.
This, the third staging of Vibes on the Island in the Caribbean, is set for Saturday June 2nd at Pigeon Island and will be headlined by Dancehall diva, Spice and reggae veteran Barrington Levy with a soca after party featuring St. Lucia’s Sir King Arthur, Ezra D’Funmachine, Sedale Semi and Superman HD.
Tickets are available at Coconutz, Ultra Lounge, Banana Country, The Wave Radio, Shoe Rehab, Sandals Halcyon, Sandals Grande St. Lucian, Sandals Golf Club, Steve’s Barbershop, Radio Caribbean International, Kaycee’s, Verdict and all The Cell locations.
Vibes on the Island is sponsored in part by Delta, Trip Mate, Sanitas, JetBlue, Rainforest Seafoods, CPJ, Digicel and First Caribbean International Bank.