Joanne Facey-Smith could hardly contain her joy after receiving her gift package from representatives of Madden’s Funeral Services last week during the company’s annual Christmas treat in Montego Bay.

Smith, a common labourer of Montego Bay, has been attending the annual event for the last six of the 40 years the funeral home has been staging Christmas treats in the resort city.

“God bless them to do what they are doing for us,” said a grateful Smith, “May God bless them at all times. They never had to do what they do for us.”

“I’m very appreciative of it, it helps me for my Christmas and sometimes I have food stuff until February the next year,” added Facey-Smith.

The Madden’s Funeral Services Christmas treat was actually started in Kingston by company founders Leslie Ferdinand Madden and wife Hazel at their North Street location in the 1930s.

“As old as our company has been we do this at Christmas; this is a tradition coming over from Kingston and we have been doing business in Montego Bay for the last 40 years and we have structured the treat in this way for the last 15 years to accommodate not only the elderly, but children and the disabled,” said Janet Madden, director of Madden’s Funeral Services.

“However, this year is our 40th year and we decided to really do it big, we normally issue 500 care packages but this year we gave away 1,000 packages.

“What I would love is for other corporate companies in Montego Bay to either start an initiative like this, or to partner with us to create a Montego Bay treat for everyone,” Madden added.

The treat, which serves Montego Bay and its environs, attracts huge crowds each year and this year was no exception.

Isiaa Madden-Brownie, director, Dovecot of St James, said she is elated that the act of kindness was started by her great grandfather, and instilled into all the children to ensure that “this tradition of kindness will continue”.

“We distributed rice, flour, cornmeal, sugar, mackerel, oil, peas and we are happy to do it. It’s a wonderful feeling and I look forward to it every year,” said Brownie.

“I remember being summoned every Christmas to go to North Street [in Kingston] and hand out packages and now my daughters and their cousins do it, and they also enjoy doing it,” Brownie added.

“The motivation for us to continue lies in the history of our company. This treat is as much a part of our business as anything else; my great grandfather felt strongly about it, and as a result it has been passed down to each generation since. We also want to ensure that people have food for Christmas and to bring cheer and joy for the season,” Brownie explained.

Another recipient, Cebert Graham, expressed gratitude and lauded the Madden family for looking out for the elderly and vulnerable, including the disabled.

“The crowd is a lot to handle, but they [Madden’s] always look out for us because we are not as able as most, but we still get something. I collected my package and I was able to get for my friend, who just lose eight toes because a sugar [diabetes], so him couldn’t come out,” Graham stated.

Madden’s Funeral Services also stages an annual back-to-school fair in Montego Bay.