Giving is priceless

FRIDAY, OCT. 26: Most of us simply see various programmes being carried out and hear the praise by the recipients.  Sometimes we see pictures featuring happy faces in the local media — the end result of something positive which involved finances.

But it’s difficult for most of us to fathom the amount of funding necessary to support programmes that enhance the personal growth and development particularly for our youth.

On last Tuesday’s Generations radio show, Denise Riviere, Executive Director of The Bermuda Sloop Foundation, explained all the wonderful benefits for youth development on board The Spirit of Bermuda. This includes character development, team work, humility, and fundamentals in forming new friendships just to name a few.

The young people in studio — Margaret Daniels and Seth Somner — spoke of their experiences on board The Spirit on their voyage to Haiti in the summer – and both shared just how much they grew immensely from the experience. Both shared that they engaged in activities they might have otherwise never considered.

Margaret learned more about patience in her dealings with the children at Feed My Lambs orphanage. Seth learned more about appreciation of even the simplest things he has such as going to the refrigerator to get a cool drink to flicking the switch for light. Would these be qualities that perhaps these young people would not have learned at home? Not necessarily, but rather, opportunities for them to strengthen the skills they already have. 

Gina Richardson voyaged aboard The Spirit to the orphanage as a chaperone and expressed her heartfelt sentiments about being among those less fortunate – and how deeply touched the young girls were to readily give up their beds for her comfort, while the girls bunked together in another bed.

These are just two examples of the hundreds of young people and one adult who have benefited from the work of a charity which can only happen as a result of the support of the public. So what does ‘support’ involve?

Many people believe that in order to support a charity they are required to put forth a lot of money.  As Denise shared on Tuesday night, this is not the case. Some have much to give, but if we all gave just a little bit, we’d surely produce a lot – and enough to continue to support the works of the charity.

Time is of utmost importance for any charity to operate. Even if one can only provide one hour a week, that hour of assistance aids tremendously to the overall operation of the charity. So I urge everyone to find a charity and lend some support while keeping the big picture in mind — that we’re giving of ourselves to help someone else. Who knows? Each of us may be in need of a charity’s assistance at some point in our lives. 

Join me on Generations on Tuesday, October 30, when I will have Patrina ‘Powergirl’ Paynter in studio to discuss her role in the community and how she manages to touch the lives of persons from all walks of life in doing her part to make a difference.

• Shawnette Somner is host of the radio show, Generations, which now airs on Tuesday evenings on Mix106 FM from 7:30pm to 9pm. E-mail: [email protected]