It doesn’t take much to put a smile on a child’s face, and that is just what the management and staff of Duty Free Point Seraphine and Invest St. Lucia achieved, last Wednesday afternoon.
“Give them a wonderful start to their Christmas,” said Giovanni St. Omer, Operations Manager of Duty Free Pointe Seraphine at a children’s Christmas party hosting about sixty children from the northern quadrant of the island. The party which was organized by General Manager Timothy Greene, Giovani St. Omer, Donna Fontenelle, and management of Pointe Seraphine, was undertaken with every intention of bringing Christmas cheer to underprivileged children.
“Instead of having a staff party for the management, we decided to have a party for underprivileged children. We actually got calls from schools, a lot of the schools in the north, who said there are a lot of kids that actually have nothing,” expressed St. Omer.
With Invest St. Lucia, staff, shop owners and a number of sponsors lending a hand, each boy and girl left with a mouthful of snacks, a photo with Santa and a Christmas present to unwrap.
This year’s sixty inspirational children between the ages of 6-13 were selected by the schools which they attend. The Operations Manager went on to explain the enthusiasm behind next year’s Christmas season, stating that efforts are going to be made to host a larger number of children from across the island. With this direction the organizers of the event are looking at the afternoon’s event on the broader spectrum of contributing on a community level.
Joining the children were Hon. Lorne Theophilus, Minister for Tourism, Heritage and Creative Industries; Hon. Emma Hippolyte, Minister of Commerce, Business Development, Investment & Consumer Affairs; Hon. Dr. Ubaldus Raymond Parliamentary Secretary to Commerce Ministry; and Hon. Robert Lewis, Minister of Education, Human Resource Development & Labour. The ministers appeared in support of the initiative undertaken, and sought to inspire the young minds who sat anticipating the afternoon fun. In particular, one minister bought a basketful of snacks in support of the entrepreneurship of an eleven-year-old boy who comes to Pointe Seraphine each day, with the aim of selling a basket of goodies, the proceeds from which are geared towards helping his mother and himself financially.
The success of the event was marked on the countenances of the sixty participating children. They enjoyed an afternoon set out just for them and were entertained by the playful dancing of colourful masqueraders. The youths at this year’s children’s Christmas party hosted by Duty Free Pointe Seraphine, have become part of the first to enjoy many Merry Christmas’s filled with cheer at Pointe Seraphine.
(Source http://www.thevoiceslu.com/local_news/2011/december/23_12_11/GIVING_JOY.htm)
