Blingers Foundation, the charity arm of Blingers store in Ocho Rios, once again made the Christmas season a happy one for six garbage collectors who work in the Ocho Rios area, with the donation of television sets.

Each of the six workers collected a 32-inch Aiwa smart TV from store owner Mark Pai on Sunday, and expressed delight at the gifts.

Pai said the donation was a way of saying thanks again at Christmas to the workers for their tireless efforts to keep Ocho Rios clean throughout the year, despite the difficulties faced at times.

“Garbage collectors, normally we help every year; last year we gave them mattresses and fans and stuff like that and this year we gave them TVs, all of them,” Pai told The Gleaner.

“They clean our community all year long and just to appreciate them and make them know that, yes, we do acknowledge them and their hard work,” he added.

Several taxi drivers were also presented with four tyres each as Bleachers Foundation tried to spread the joy at Christmastime.

“You know they carry public passengers and they are frustrated on the street normally, and for Christmas we want them to feel comfortable and know that we acknowledge their hard work, too. We chose community-based taxi drivers – they do help out a lot of people now and then,” Pai explained.

Over the years, Blingers Foundation has assisted several schools and students with cash and necessary equipment, but with the coronavirus disrupting the education system and thousands of students out of the classroom, the focus has been shifted somewhat to adults, Pai pointed out.