For more than four decades Orrett Wellington has given back to the residents of Trench Town in St Andrew in any way he can, and this Easter season was no different as he hosted a treat for the elderly at the Trench Town Multipurpose Centre.

On Monday, the community centre was filled with residents rocking and grooving to music as they awaited their carefully prepared meals and grocery items, as well as a token of $1,000.

Wellington said it was a delight to witness the smiles on the more than 100 faces at the centre and noted that care packages would also be delivered to elderly residents who were shut in.

“Whenever time I make a profit, I love to give back. When giving back, you don’t have to tell me thanks. It’s from the heart. It’s like when I give, I just feel good within myself,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

A contractor by trade, Wellington shared that growing up, he always dreamt of helping others.

“When I was a little boy, at about five years old, a gentleman used to raise goats, and every year he would always kill a goat and he would usually have a zinc pan with a whole heap of shillings [the currency at the time] in it, and him have we line up, and him give everybody a plate of food and a shilling. I always said when I grow up, I would like to do something like that,” he shared.

Wellington’s philanthropic deeds started in 1980 and have since flourished into him hosting summer school for children in the community and treating them to beach trips at the end of the programme.

“We have people now who are over 40 years old who we used to carry to Green Grotto Caves and Puerto Seco during summer school trips who had never been there,” Wellington said, adding that he has also donated to nursing homes and small businesses in his community, among other things.

However, it is the elderly who have a special place in his heart.

“I would easily give an old person something that I know they will use it to boil some porridge than give a man who I know a go gamble and drink some rum. It’s not that I won’t give it to them, but if an old person comes to me and asks me for something it’s hard [to not give]. If I have $1,000 in my pocket I have to give them,” he said.

Wellington has received glowing commendations for his efforts over the years from Member of Parliament for St Andrew Southern Mark Golding, who was in attendance at the treat on Monday and described him as a staple of the community.

“I’m just very happy that the older folks in the constituency are getting a little niceness for their Easter — a nice meal, and some nice music and entertainment… and everybody’s having a nice time and enjoying themselves,” he told the Observer.

“Elderly people are very vulnerable, especially if they don’t have relatives to fall back on, so it’s important that the community look out for them, and it’s important that the State looks out for them. That’s why we’re very keen on trying to do more for our pensioners to make their lives easier, but these kinds of events make a big difference. It brings some cheer and positive vibes to their lives at an important religious season. It’s also a season where we can show some care for them, so it is important,” said Golding.

He further noted that on the other side of the community, residents were watching the final day of the community’s Easter football competition, and it’s a great feeling to see residents living in unity and harmony.

Julian Oliver Hudson, an elderly resident, was all smiles as she shared her appreciation for the work that Wellington was doing in the community.

“It is very good because no other person really does this for us, just Orrett and the member of parliament together. It is very nice, and we appreciate it very much,” she said.

Another resident, Marcia Hilton, shared that for years she has helped Wellington stage his many charitable events and she is grateful for the role he has played in the community.

“These are areas that we grew up in, and these are the people who we know from scratch, and the people are really welcoming of such events like these. It’s important to give back for many reasons because it is an act of God. It is a way of showing love,” said Hilton.

“We are all here, we grow here, and we are one big family, so we should be more helpful to the ones that need it in this community,” she said.