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Holiday Helpers touch lives of the elderly

Published:Thursday | December 26, 2019 | 12:00 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer

Each year at Christmas time, the Holiday Helpers of the Highgate, St Mary-based Marymount High School spread joy to the elderly, presenting them with gift baskets and singing carols.

This year, the Holiday Helpers chose to visit Annotto Bay, and while their efforts brought joy to the 30 persons who benefited from gift baskets valued over $3,000 each, the students became emotional at how heart-warming their generosity was received by ageing residents.

“There was this old lady, she said she hadn’t been visited by anybody for a very long time. She cried when we gave her a basket and followed us even as the bus was leaving,” said Leslie Asante, one of three guidance counsellors who, along with a group of teachers, accompanied the students from the all-girls institution.

That woman was 91-year-old Carmen Bonner, who lives alone.

An elderly couple who were both blind, Neville and Una Love, 85 and 87 years old, respectively, also expressed appreciation for their gift, as did another blind woman, Claudette Williams, 76.

Then there was Amy Fairweather, 79, Gwendolyn Gallimore, 83, Joseph Ricketts, 82, and others who said that the gifts made a big difference.

Another beneficiary, Kerry Dawkins, who lost her house in a fire earlier that day, was also grateful for the charity initiative.

“Most of them were crying because they never expected to get anything like that,” Asante told The Gleaner.

“To see the number of persons who are struggling, left in their homes, it’s amazing, it’s mind-boggling. Many people are suffering, especially the elderly, they’re really, really, really suffering. One lady, ... the way she cried, it just made me feel guilty of something I’ve not committed,” she added.

One past student, Robyn Boyd, who lives overseas and who was part of the Holiday Helpers while at Marymount, got together with some friends and other past students and raised funds for the cause. She joined the group on the journey recently.

The team this year included grade 12 students Samantha Polson, Nathania Reid, Abbeyjah Forrea, Anastacia Bradshaw, Chrisann Henry, Shadae Clarke, and Brittania Francis; guidance counsellors Leslie Asante, Tanice Thompson, and Tena Williams-Leslie; and teachers Nordan Wisdom, Randine Phillips and Maxine Boyd.