The D.O.V.E. Centre, whose acronym stands for Developing Our Vision for Education, an annex for challenged children located at the Alwyn Allison Richardson Primary School, is the recipient of two pieces of valuable and highly-desired equipment. One is a lifting device and the other is a special chair – all to assist the teachers at the Centre in caring for the children. The donor is Scotiabank (Anguilla) Limited.
The equipment was presented to the Centre on Friday, January 29. Mr. Alwyn (Jerry Dice) Richardson, after whose late father – a former headmaster at West End – the school was named, gave the opening address.
“Scotiabank has again shown, through its Bright Future Programme, its relevance in response to the needs of local communities at the grassroot level as it focuses on children’s causes and needs,” he observed. “This gesture is a reflection of goodwill and partnership that exists in Anguilla today, despite the financial challenging times.”
Mr. Valdez Johnson, speaking on behalf of Scotiabank (Anguilla) Limited, said that the bank and its international partners were proud to donate these well-needed pieces of equipment to the D.O.V.E. Centre – and by extension the children.
He continued: “Our goal has always been to help create a better life for people in the communities we serve. In order to make an even larger impact, we are making two significant adjustments in our community investment strategy. We are retiring the Bright Future [Project] and we will align all future community support. This will help Scotiabank to have a bigger impact and presence in the communities. In addition, we will begin to globally align Scotiabank’s primary community investment support to young people in the community…
“We have provided for the D.O.V.E. Centre two pieces of equipment: a Drive Power Lift with a chargeable and removable battery. This is of exceptional value as it provides up to twenty-five lifts per battery charge. The other piece of equipment is a first-class chair that can accommodate the larger children.”
Mr. Johnson thanked the Lead Teacher, Mrs. Violet Martin, for approaching Scotiabank, through “Jerry Dice”, and hoped the equipment would facilitate the work at the Centre. He also thanked Mrs. Pamela Herbert-Daniel, the bank’s Managing Director, for approving the project.
Speaking on behalf of the Department of Education, Mrs. Jacqueline-Jeffrey Connor, Education Officer, Multi-Education Support Services, said in part: “The D.O.V.E. Programme caters for the most vulnerable group of primary school students with mobility and communication difficulties. Our population at the Centre requires a high percentage of our…resources and, as a result, we cannot consider ourselves successful until we are able to fully serve these children…because they cannot assist themselves. It is indeed a great pleasure to be present and to acknowledge the invaluable donation given by one of our corporate partners, namely Scotiabank (Anguilla). They have graciously stepped forward to fill a need which not only makes a huge difference for our students’ mobility functioning, but for the D.O.V.E. staff as well.”
Ms. Marcia Brooks, Principal of the Alwyn Allison Richardson Primary School, and Mrs. Martin, of the D.O.V.E. Centre, thanked Scotiabank for its kindness, saying the equipment filled a great need at the Centre.
