Shelter, fire victims get supplies from Digicel

Residents of the Marie Atkins Shelter and victims of the recent Mark Lane fire will be having a merrier Christmas courtesy of Digicel. In keeping with their Merry Millions Christmas promotion, where Digicel gives $1 million to one lucky customer each week, the communications and entertainment company also donated $1 million in supplies to the homeless.

By this deed, Digicel is addressing two of the major causes of homelessness in downtown Kingston: One being the result of homes destroyed by fire; the other being persons who have fallen on hard times with no place to go.

"As a part of the downtown community, it is our responsibility to help our neighbours and support them in their time of need. The Marie Atkins Shelter is a place of refuge for many, so we wanted to make the facility an even more comfortable place to stay. As for the victims of the recent fire on Mark Lane, we know these supplies will go a far way in giving them a new start after such a devastating ordeal," said Andrea Hardware, director of human resources at Digicel.

Supplies received include food, clothing, beds, pillows, mattresses, baby items, and cleaning supplies.

Mavis Farquharson, acting inspector of the poor within the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, said, "We don't have enough money to meet the needs of all our residents, so this donation is a big help. Some of the residents actually work, and some go to school at the HEART TRUST/NTA, so donations like this serve as encouragement to them to work harder to be successful. We do hope that other corporate companies will follow Digicel and also give back."

Almost 50 persons lost their homes and personal belongings in a fire at Mark Lane on December 4.