OCA summer camp students gifted a stylish back-to-school
PARTICIPANTS in the annual summer camp hosted by the Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA) have headed back to school in style this year courtesy of National Baking Company.
National donated Bresheh backpacks to 50 students enrolled in the programme for the start of this school year following a call for support from the OCA, the Commission of Parliament that protects the rights of children and safeguards their best interests.
Speaking at the recent handover of the backpacks, brand manager at National Crystal Blackwood said: “It has been a delight to support the OCA once more on this programme to ensure that students are adequately prepared to tackle the school year. And with so many children still in need of even the simplest school supplies, it was a no-brainer for National to make this donation.”
The OCA Summer Camp Programme, which was established in 2013 to create opportunities for children from lower income households across the island, has been offering support to students ages five to 17 in and around the OCA’s Harbour Street location.
In accepting the donation, executive secretary of the OCA Suzanne Fearon-Williams said, “On behalf of Mrs Diahann Gordon Harrison, the Children’s Advocate and the entire team, I want to express our gratitude to Mr Gary Hendrickson [National Baking Company chairman] for his continued support of the programme. It means the world to us to be able to assist our nation’s children.”
In the meantime, National explained that the brand-name backpacks donated to the agency in a variety of colours were chosen because of the company’s goal to support and promote local manufacturers.
National Baking Company joined the OCA Summer Camp Programme as a sponsor in 2016. The camp, which typically situates children in need of psychosocial intervention in a different environment to their homes for a week, has had to pivot since the pandemic to only provide the students with supplies.
In addition to spearheading other education and nourishment initiatives, participation in the OCA Summer Camp Programme, is one of National’s strategies to positively impact the nation’s children.
