Whitter Group donates J$500,000 to three St James charity groups

WESTERN BUREAU:

Three charity organisations that cater to St James’ less fortunate residents have been given good reason to sing praise this Christmas as the Whitter Group of Companies donated a combined sum of J$500,000 on Monday to support their operations.

During a brief handover ceremony on the grounds of the Whitter Village in Ironshore, St James, Whitter Group Managing Director Angella Whitter offered J$300,000 to the Committee for the Upliftment of the Mentally Ill (CUMI) and J$100,000 each to the St James Infirmary and the Open Heart Charitable Mission.

Whitter said she was jolted into action at news two weeks ago that CUMI was facing closure.

“Just sitting in my chair and looking back, I was saying, ‘No,’ … For a community such as ours, where our people are so caring and understanding, we should not really have an institution like that closed,” she said.

In expressing gratitude for the gesture, CUMI nurse administrator Joy Crooks said that the donation would aid her organisation’s effort to provide for St James’ mentally challenged citizens, especially since the annual fundraiser was not staged this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have lost the opportunity of making our income to support our programme,” said Crooks. “But we appreciate every penny that persons have stretched forth to support us and to make sure that we keep going.”

CUMI, a non-governmental organisation “that started out of the spirit of concern”, has been in existence for 29 years, Crooks said.

The donation to the three groups follows the launch of the Joe and Angella Whitter Foundation on December 11 in commemoration of the birthday of real estate developer Joe Whitter, Angella’s late husband.