1,000 Tins for Dominica

[dropcap]G[/dropcap]row Well’s youth drive for Dominica fired the imagination of supporters and surpassed its goal of collecting 1,000 cans to send to the island. 1,163 cans of food are now on their way to the Rotary Club of Dominica, which will arrange distribution.

The youths’ bright imaginative flyers (printed courtesy of Star Publishing Company) triggered an outpouring of support from Gros Islet schools, Grow Well volunteers, members and friends. Young members of various Grow Well after-school programmes and C.A.R.E. trainees in the Grow Well Centre helped fuel the drive. They received, counted, boxed and hauled donations for shipment.

The ‘1,000 Tins For Dominica’ drive was first announced on Wednesday 27 September and in a less than a week 30 boxes and containers were packed and readied for transport. The shipment was scheduled to leave Saint Lucia by tugboat, arranged by supporters, on Friday 6 October.

Grow Well was founded 22 years ago by a group, including the Rotary Club of Gros Islet, to further the positive development of youth in the Gros Islet District. The Grow Well Centre, opposite the Roman Catholic Church in Gros Islet, provides several after-school programmes including remedial reading, golf, and girls’ circle. It houses the Grow Well children’s and young adult library and a well-equipped computer lab which encourages computer literacy for the young, with computerized homework support, principally for secondary school students with no internet access at home. Grow Well scholarships assist students from infant to secondary schools.