Happy Valentine’s Day to our kind women

Sometimes when I’m alone or in a particularly pensive mood I like to engage in what I call my Deborah Kerr moments.  While no one is looking I become Anna, the school teacher from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I.  

I think about my former life, some pretty swishy skirts, maybe those old Louboutins that I ruined one night and I am completely transported.  

Then for good measure I begin to hum the music to Hello Young Lovers.

I know — I’m ridiculous.  Pity parties are purely for the selfish so when I do have an occasional lapse it isn’t long before I’m jolted right back to reality.  

If you don’t mind my saying, screw the pretty dresses. It’s just stuff.  What really sustains you in all kinds of weather is plain and simple — love.  

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the women in Bermuda who give tirelessly and with so much love every day.  

I think about my good friend Sheelagh Cooper who founded the Coalition for the Protection of Children.  

Long before the recent economic crisis hit Bermuda, Sheelagh understood that there were already far too many Bermudians suffering and living precariously close to the edge.  She’s been at it for years, relentlessly insuring that children in Bermuda have an advocate for their safety and well-being. 

Sheelagh was one of the first in Bermuda to realize that a child without a proper breakfast each morning would be at a huge disadvantage at school.  

How can you concentrate and learn if you’re hungry?  The Coalition got to work and created Breakfast for Every Child and to date has served over 30,000 breakfasts at the Victor Scott Primary School, Paget Primary, Prospect Primary and Dellwood Middle School.  

One fifty-dollar donation will feed one child breakfast for an entire month!  

If you can please call 295-1150 and help out or check out their web page to learn more: www.coalition.bm  

My friend Sarah Mardon can’t say enough good things about The Eliza DoLittle Society.   

If, like me, you thought the Society was a theatre group let me tell you about their great work to feed the hungry in Bermuda.  Every day, TEDS collects food from restaurants and supermarkets that otherwise would go to waste and then distributes the food through 14 meal venues and food banks.  

Many previously gainfully employed Bermudians have lost their jobs, plowed through their savings and can’t make ends meet.  

Even those with jobs are having difficulty and have come to rely on the support of the Eliza DoLittle Society.  

It may be hard to imagine that one of your neighbours might be a beneficiary of the Society’s program but Sarah and her fellow volunteers see it every day.  

She told me: “It’s heartbreaking to see children coming in to The Cathedral for breakfast — but that’s nothing compared to seeing the look in their parents’ eyes — it’s one of absolute desperation.”    

On Monday, February 24th at 6pm the Society will hold their annual Soup-a-Bowl at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.  

Bermuda’s top chefs, along with four aspiring chefs from the Bermuda College, will participate in a friendly competition to determine the best soup.  This is not a fancy dress party but an opportunity to gather with good friends and support this very worthy cause.  For tickets call 333-4483. Check out their web page too at www.elizadolittle.bm.  

After the flowers, the chocolates (my favourite part) and “I love you” (nice too) why not reach just a little deeper and spare some love for those Bermudians who go hungry every day?  

You’ll feel really good for helping and Valentine’s Day can mean even more than just a card.  

Happy Valentine’s Day to the women of The Coalition for the Protection of Children, Sheelagh Cooper, Founder and Chair; Nicola Feldman, Executive Director; Shayna Duncan, Director of client Services and Kelly Hunt, Director of Special Events.  

Big hugs to the team at The Eliza DoLittle Society, Margaret Ward, Executive Director and Terry Battersbee; Maria Aitken, Fundraiser Coordinator; Sherma Simmons, Program Cordinator; Jamie Kelly, Assistant to Food Raising Coordinator; Lucille Lambert, Office Admistrator and Nicola Muirhead, Volunteer Coordinator.  Lest anyone forgets the drivers give a really big kiss to Trevor Bell, Andrew Simons and Delroy Lewis.  

Finally, thank you, Sarah, for reminding me how lucky I am to have daily bread, good friends and family and so much love in my life.