BELAIFA Donates to Liberty Children’s Home and Others
‘Tis the season for giving and today, the Belize Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, with help of the general public, was able to make a donation to Liberty Children’s Home in Ladyville. But this year, the partnership with its donors allowed BELAIFA to extend its reach and assist Marla’s House of Hope and Cornerstone Foundation in the West as well as some families across the country with hampers.
Duane Moody, Reporting
They are tasked with providing support to insurance companies – not to mention advising people about preparing for rainy days. But today, the Belize Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors took on a different role, honouring a ten year tradition of giving back to the community.
Carol Panton-Rose, President, BELAIFA
Carol Panton-Rose
“The partnership that we have had with the children’s home is a decade long and so this is something that we do every year as a part of giving back to our community.”
Back in November, the staff took to supermarkets across the city asking shoppers to donate canned foods and non-perishable goods to the cause. The member organizations and partners such as Madisco, Twins Supermarket and Frontline Service chipped in to help make the food drive a reality.
Carol Panton-Rose
“As a part of our insurance November week in November, we embarked on a food drive and we had different representatives, advisors from the different companies, literally go out and station ourselves at different supermarkets. So we were at Brodies Northern and downtown and we were at Publics Supermarket. We were soliciting food items so that we can donate to the Liberty Children’s Home in Ladyville. If you see all of this stuff that was donated, the general public came and people were generous and it doesn’t matter how much they gave, as you can see we have so many things that we collected for the children’s home so we’re really excited about that.”
Duane Moody
“You guys normally match what was given?”
Carol Panton-Rose
“We represent different insurance companies, so we represent Sagicor Life Inc, Diversified Life Solutions Brokers, RF&G Life Insurance Company and Atlantic Insurance Company. So we did get contributions from them as well and that was definitely a part of our collections that we were able to get.”
The items were handed over to the Director at Liberty Children’s Home, a safe space for thirty-four children. Agatha Valentine speaks about the impact that the donation has on the institution.
Agatha Valentine, Director, Liberty Children’s Home
Agatha Valentine
“It’s always a feeling of joy and gratitude on our behalf because what they do is a great need that they contribute, which is food, and it does contribute to the quality of life for our residents, for our children. Grocery is an expensive commodity and since we are all aware of the issues surrounding COVID-19, we are very much grateful for the contribution. We have been working with far less income since the start of COVID-19 so I think this is one of the biggest donations that BELAIFA has given to us and it shows that as a community, we still have people with a heart and people who are willing to give back.”
This year, with assistance from donors such as DFC Belmopan, Quality Chicken, Recinos Imports, Vegas Distributors, Ceiba Realty and Xaibel Gas Station, BELAIFA has been able to expand its reach to Marla’s House of Hope and Cornerstone Foundation – not to mention a number of families who will be receiving food hampers.
Carol Panton-Rose
“This year from what we got, we were able to secure ten hampers and we will be distributing those to needy families in Belize. So apart from Belize City, we also have advisors who will be contributing to other places in San Ignacio and these places are the cornerstone foundation and we will also be giving, donating food items to the Marla’s House of Hope in Belmopan. So there is a lot going on and we are so excited that we were able to get all these things.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
