MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Golf View Hotel Managing Director Peter Campbell admitted feeling pleased that he and his staff were able to assist parents struggling with expenses at a back-to-school fair last Saturday.

Campbell, who acquired the hotel in 2019, said he had to be constantly restocking books, pencils and other school supplies as the expected turnout of 500 children doubled in under an hour after the start of the fair.

“We have opened up the entire facility to the children. We have seen and heard the cries and decided to go all out and do what we can to soften the blow and impact for parents for the back-to-school period. We were targeting 500 children, but we went over 1,000 children. We had to restock,” Campbell explained.

“We just want them to enjoy themselves and to get a full understanding of how important education is to their well-being and, inadvertently, to the well-being of the country,” he said.

“It is the first we are having this, because we acquired the hotel in 2019 and we realised the impact that COVID-19 had on the business and the wider community. The cries that reached our ears were coming from parents not being able to do what they genuinely want to do for the children as a result of the impact of COVID-19 and just in general,” he added.

In addition to receiving school supplies, the children enjoyed the hotel’s pool and were treated to entertainment and meals.

“We also have a medical team on hand…All the facilities from the hotel were opened to facilitate the children. Although it is a rough period for all, we just decided to do what we can to soften the blow to the parents,” Campbell reiterated.