In commemorating Global Volunteer Month, the CB Group is celebrating the everyday people whose amazing feats of kindness and volunteerism mark them out as life-changing heroes.

April is celebrated as Global Volunteer Month and the CB Group, through its annual internal awards programme, has highlighted employees who have shown their altruistic spirit by volunteering or supporting a cause.

That special recognition is coupled with an award of $100,000 personal cash prize and $200,000 to further reinvest into their community outreaches or donate to a charity of their choice.

Awardees Kay-Dian Smith and Peter Minott are leading by example when it comes to shaping the minds of tomorrow.

Smith operates a homework help centre at a disused basic school in her Waltham Park community in the Corporate Area. The building had a substantially damaged roof, but she was able to replace it with the help of CB Group’s internal awards programme.

The customer care coordinator said she felt compelled to act when she saw that the children in her community were without the kind of help and guidance they needed.

She aspires to organise workshops on self-development for the children in her community. These will include discussions on careers, hygiene, conflict resolution, as well as mock work interviews.

“Everybody might not have the same passion, but maybe you like to teach or cook, but there is something inside of us and it is very important that we use our knowledge, talents and skills to help someone else,” said Smith.

Minott, who functions as a production supervisor during the week, provided solutions to the disruption of regular classes due to the pandemic for the children in his home town of Palmers Cross, Clarendon.

The Anointed Word of Hope and Truth’s after-school programme caters to students aged five-10 years and focuses on maths, science and information technology, as well as fundamental skills like reading and writing.

Using the reward from the CB Group’s internal awards programme, Minott said he was able to buy tablets and laptops so that now as many as 10 children can have the devices to use during class time.

“When we think about volunteerism, many people really want to… but they want to do this and do that and are thinking big… but volunteerism is not about how much you can give but the fact that you gave in the first place,” said Minott.

Community outreach coordinator Roxanne Isaacs is another hero within CB Group doing impactful work. She’s a part of the benevolent team, Friends Who Care, who spend their time giving back to three of the Mustard Seed Communities — Dare to Care, Martha’s House and Matthew 25:40 — in a variety of ways.

From the donation of goods, appliances, they offer their time and attention to the residents of these institutions.

The 11-people Friends Who Care team was formed 10 years ago for an Easter project that has since become the gift that keeps on giving.

Isaacs indicated that the support from CB Group has allowed for well needed infrastructural assistance across the three homes.

“Oh my God, [volunteering] is an awesome feeling!” Isaacs exclaimed. “It is fulfilling and gives you that joy and proud feeling to know that you are a part of something that is impactful and also seeing the joy on the faces of the persons you help”.

In celebrating the volunteers in the company CB’s Talent Development Manager Shannon Jones said, “The CB Group is all about giving back, it’s a big part of our culture of sustainability where we focus on empowering people through social good.

“So we’re excited to support and celebrate these three top volunteers who captured the spirit of our culture and what it means to really make a difference in their communities.”