Bodyholiday Cares

BodyHoliday Cares

Our Community Projects

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September 2018

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September

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September 2018

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September

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BodyHoliday Cares

Changing Lives under the Caribbean sun

Changing Lives is our watchword for our approach to caring for our guests.
This maxim, however can equally apply to the communicty in which we live and so BodyHoliday Cares creates projects designed to give back to the community what we are able to do.

BodyHoliday Cares Overview

What we do

Our activities span initiatives that help enhance success in education, facilitate renovations, and help the institutions who serve our causes achieve some important goals. The objective is to be able to help in a meaningful way, that transforms longstanding situations so that individuals and institutions can experience the intended relief.

Donations are kindly solicited so that we are in a better position to sustainably undertake such interventions.

Who We Are?

Our charitable Foundation was incorporated in Saint Lucia in 2002, under the nomenclature “The Barnard Scholarship Fund”, after the Barnard family name (owners of BodyHoliday and Rendezvous Resorts). The purpose of this fund was to raise funds to support less-privileged persons in attaining university level education in Tourism management. The nomenclature has been revised to “The Cares Foundation”, and the fund now covers the gamut of charitable causes supported by the two resorts. Activities are undertaken by the respective resorts based on their immediate communities and specific interests

Mission Statement

BodyHoliday is an organization that changes situations of its people, its community and the environment through authentic, purposeful, resource-filled interventions.

Vision

To be an organization that enhances lives through a framework of socially sustainable interventions, creating long lasting benefits, and inspiring others to do the same.

Our funding priorities

  • Education
  • Eye Health/Vision Impairment
  • Mental Wellness
  • Environmental Sustainability
  • Youth (especially males) and Heathy Living, amongst others

Our Projects to Date

Being Strategic about it

In being more strategic, a Corporate Social Responsibility Officer has since been appointed, we have re-structured our CSR Committee, and have revised our giving policies.

We invite primary institutions overseeing our causes to state their most critical needs, and try to help them achieve their goals, rather than impose our projects on them.

You see, being in the business of changing lives, we firmly believe that with scarce resources, investments ought to be focused on achieving results. Period.  We aim to support initiatives that are sufficiently intentional as to make a discernable difference in the lives of those who benefit.  We know you will be happier with that too, because we are mindful that you do not give to us, you give through us. We want you to feel satisfied with where and how we invest your donations.

Closing the Achievement Gap

The kind donations of our friends enabled us to recently to launch the Monchy Primary After-school Programme, a specially designed intervention for students who require that additional support to do better at school. It targets each child’s specific area(s) of weakness. A total of 44 students from grades 4 through 6 are benefitting from this pilot phase, which we intend to make replicable over time.

It includes socio-economic support, counselling, life skills training, extra-curricular activities, parental and community involvement, teacher/facilitator training, library books, and a strong hands-on learning component (ICT, cooking workshops, gardening, field trips, etc.).

The programme costs $45,000 East Caribbean Dollars per year.

You can help by donating towards next year’s costs for this school, and future replication of the concept at other schools.

Some Angels Have Wings and Some Angels Have Wheels

Parents with children living with Cerebral Palsy in St. Lucia are already experiencing relief, thanks to a recent donation by the Cares Foundation.

In November, we donated $50,000 East Caribbean Dollars to the Cerebral Palsy Association for the provision of, inter alia, special-needs equipment, training courses and related equipment for unemployed parents, 1 home repair, and transportation to CP-related activities – over 30 members benefitted.

Khalil (seen here with our CSR Officer, Jacqui), will be receiving a heavy duty special-needs stroller to help traverse up the long-winding, tricky terrain from his house, so he could attend school daily. He loves school and gets depressed whenever he must stay home, for instance on rainy days when it is more difficult to make the trek. Your giving has made all this possible.

You can donate towards support for other similar cases in the Association.

Don’t Let It Slip Your Mind

Why ‘Mental Wellness”?  Because the human brain is a wonder and is therefore ‘a terrible thing to waste’.  We are zoning in on the health of the mind, because we find that causes such as these tend to be grossly underpatronized as they get lost amongst the clutter of other important issues.

According to John Campo of the Ohio State University, “Given the centrality of the brain to human health, its malfunctions should be a priority, separated from stigma and treated on par with the diseases of the body”. BodyHoliday Cares is stepping up to the plate.  Please join the fight!

During this period, we furnished a group therapy room for the St Lucia National Mental Wellness Centre.  With the help of our guests we are funding therapeutic tools, equipment and games for the group sessions.

The objective of the group therapy room is to create a safe space for the Centre’s clients who have similar challenges, to draw social support from each other when they share experiences, as well as learn new coping skills.

We are also looking to assist with roll-out of a public education campaign on awareness and prevention of Suicide. During World Suicide Awareness Day this year, Consultant Psychiatrist at the Centre, Dr. Julius Gillard, said that he believed the local public was “not sufficiently aware of the help available or what they should do when persons express or exhibit suicidal behavior”. (Stlucianewsonline.com, Sept 2018)

So, don’t let it slip your min. Your assistance goes a long way to providing continuous support for such educational campaigns, and more resources to aid in- and out-patients.

Changing Conditions

Over the end of year school break we undertook renovation of the student toilets at the Roseau Combined School, a primary school in one of the poverty-stricken districts on the west coast.

By “being the change”, you are helping create more comfortable learning conditions for the little miracles there.

The project was valued at circa $15,000 East Caribbean Dollars.

The school has other needs such as need for a heavy-duty photocopier, and repaving of the children’s playground which is presently chipped asphalt and concrete. You can help make their dreams come true.

Santa Visits Hospitals Aswell

Throughout the year, guests are invited to donate any gift of their choice for children in
preparation for our Christmas toy drive. On Christmas Eve; December 24th, The executive team
set out on a visit to the pediatric ward of the Okeu Hospital in St.Lucia to deliver all the
treasured items.

From newborns to teenagers, the journey from one ward to the other was more than
heartwarming. With hopes to make these children experience the Christmas they would’ve
hoped for, The BodyHoliday team gifted each child with the most precious item.

Thankfulness, Joy and appreciation were among the few words used to describe the
atmosphere and order of the day.

Where we are Headed

Our tagline, “Changing People’s Lives One Person at a Time”, speaks to our overall philosophy as a wellness organization that is passionate about improving lives, not only as our core activity, but for those in our community and for our staff.  We are our brothers’ keeper.

Over the years, we have spent some time growing the fund so that we could do more, as we believe in undertaking structured programmes that are designed for impact, as opposed to the past way of piecemeal donations to nebulous projects.  This will be done either by commissioning the design of projects or collaborating with other organizations on theirs.  Read more below.

This year, we are looking to raise $500,000 East Caribbean Dollars (that is 185,000 USD or 144,000 GBP or 245,500 CAD or 161,400 EURO.

Make the World a Better Place

We all generally want to give back. Why not do some of your giving through us? Here’s how you can help.

Whilst Saint Lucia is truly paradise extraordinaire, as a developing country, the needs are so much greater than the means.  The Cares Foundation exists to make a difference, but we cannot do it alone.  The support of kind people like you enable us to dare some more; to fight for real change!  That way, our donors too are satisfied to realize demonstrable results from their contributions.  Donation options are:

  • One-time donation
  • Regular monthly or annual installments
  • In-kind donation – expertise, equipment or other resources
  • Peer-to-peer support – mobilize persons in your network of contacts to help boost your contribution, or encourage them to offer their own resources

You can opt to donate to the overall fund or to the BodyHoliday arm, BodyHoliday Cares.

Please give generously and thanks in advance for your kindness!

Be the Difference!

Keep abreast of our activities on our social media platforms and on our website. We’re on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Sign up for our newsletter to receive snippets on our exciting activities.

To make your donation, please reach out to our CSR Officer, Patricia, who would be delighted to respond
to any of your questions. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Reach out today:

CONTACT Patricia Calderon
Corporate Social Responsibility Officer
Sunswept Resorts, Cariblue Beach, Cap Estate, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia
Tel 1 (758) 724-7874 / 1 (758) 457 7874
Email – patricia@sunsweptresorts.com

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