SCOTIABANK and United Way of Jamaica lit up the faces of the children and wards at the Blessed Assurance Children’s Home in Adelphi, St James, with a treat for the residents and donation of major appliances to assist the facility which offers care for persons with special needs.

On December 21, the facility was gifted with a commercial gas range stove and oven to replace a smaller, less effective unit and a refrigerator which will be used to store medication. The residents were also treated to lunch and desserts courtesy of the bank.

Home to some 30 residents, Blessed Assurance is a Mustard Seed Communities facility located on five acres of land just outside of Montego Bay. It provides care and shelter for residents aged 12 to 37 years with severe disabilities.

Vanessa Dobson, matron at the home, said the donations were greatly appreciated.

“We are very grateful when we see corporate entities come in to assist us. We provide holistic care for the children and this can be very challenging at times,” Dobson said.

Like many other organisations, the home has experienced a decline in donations since the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic, however, Dobson said, they have a system in place where the staff treat the children as if they are family.

“We are a family and here is their home. We treat the children as if they are our own and try to ensure that they have the necessary amenities that other children would have,” she added.

Following the handing over of the items, Andrea Rhule-Hudson, branch manager at Scotiabank, Fairview, said staff take their role in corporate social responsibility very seriously and giving back and supporting the community is embedded in the bank’s culture.

“We are very happy to give our assistance, especially as the home prepared for the Christmas season. We are also very happy that the staff remains committed to providing the very best care, including wholesome meals and medical attention for some of the most vulnerable in society,” Rhule-Hudson said.

Janet Richards, who represented United Way of Jamaica, said despite COVID-19, it was a pleasure to partner with Scotiabank in bringing joy to the children.

“We still believe that in giving, we will always receive. We are not able to interact with the children as usual because of the pandemic, and there has been a sharp decrease in the level of interactivity, as some relatives have stopped coming. But we are very happy that we were able to make this happen,” Richards said.

Scotiabank and the United Way of Jamaica partnered over the Yuletide season to assist six children’s homes across the island at a cost of $2.2 million.