With little fanfare, the NGO Women in Action for the Needy and Destitute (Wand) has been quietly raising donations without government funding to help charitable organisations. Wand's mission is to bring relief to women and children who are disadvantaged or find themselves in needy or desperate circumstances.
The organisation will be hosting its Red Carpet Ball at The Hyatt Regency, Ballroom, Port-of-Spain, on May 14, to raise funds for the construction of a drug-rehabilitation transition home as well as other projects in East Port-of-Spain. Tickets are a donation of $1,200.
Speaking to the T&T Sunday Guardian at the president of the organisation Jan Bocas-Ryan's home in Glencoe, Karen Lee Lum, public relations officer of Wand said: "The format of the ball was chosen as a way of celebrating our patrons and donors and thanking them for their tireless support, particularly in these challenging financial time. The ball will be an evening of elegance and pampering.
"Guests will be invited to bid by silent auction at the Red Carpet Ball on some fabulous gifts which we hope will raise much needed funds for the transition home and greater awareness of the work we do."
Some of the prizes donated by their sponsors include two return tickets courtesy of Caribbean Airlines Ltd; an England vs T&T Centennial Match T-shirt with team signatures; a limited edition bottle of cognac by Richard Hennessy valued at more than $23,000; from the Radisson, Grenada, a seven-night stay for two; and the latest Samsung S7 cellphones donated by TSTT, among others.
President of the group Jan Bocas-Ryan said Wand has remained very flexible in the way it raised funds.She said the organisation had a simple mandate, whatever funds were raised, it gave back to its charities.
Bocas-Ryan said Wand was fully transparent in its activities presenting audited accounts annually and fully engaging its donors.
She said their donors and patrons knew that the organisation was run by its board and associates by volunteerism with no running or overhead costs, not even stationery. In fact, the board and associates purchase tickets to their own events, they did not give themselves any leeway with their local and international donor funds.
Bocas-Ryan said 100 per cent of the money raised by the organisation go to the projects.
Gloria Nelson, secretary of the group, said since Wand's formation in 1998 its mission has been to always strive to build lifetime relationships to attract loyal supporters of its causes and in these times, more than ever, Wand recognised the need to work more and more in at-risk communities.
She said even though the country was going into some difficult economic times, those relationships were still strong, and they put their heads together to find innovative ways of responding not only to the needs of its charities but also to the needs of its corporate citizens. She said it was a good mix of "win win."
Lee Lum said that Wand identified those pressing needs of the country's communities and then connected to those donors whose visions were aligned, and then executed with transparency and inclusiveness.
In 2015 and 2016, Wand provided support to The Credo Foundation, Marion Villa, Sri Jayalakshmi Children's Home, The Morris Marshall Homework Centre, and The Cascade Home for the Deaf.
Some of the organisation's biggest projects were the Palo Seco Drug Rehabilitation Centre for women in 2012, the Home for the aged at Coora Camp in Siparia, and the construction and The Eternal Light Community Development Centre and Vocational School in Tunapuna.
Bocas-Ryan said the organisation was currently working to supply computers to the Misir Community Centre in Morvant, providing the Early Childhood Centres at Paradise Heights, nursery equipment for infants, and an external play area for the children of the Belmont Early Childhood Centre.
The St Martin's Welfare Association Early Childhood Centre, East Port-of-Spain, will have their kitchen and other facilities refurbished.
Nelson and Lee Lum also drew attention to Wand's escalating support of youth education programmes in at-risk communities by providing both physical and social resources, such as the "Peace Education" programme designed and delivered by Prof Hakim Williams, an esteemed professor at Gettysburg University and son of the soil.
His programme builds the capacity of the country's youth and their caregivers to harness and direct emotions towards peaceful and progressive relationships, particularly in the face of crisis.
MORE INFO
For more information and to support the Red Carpet Ball on May 14, contact Wand at (868) 632-8426 or Karen at info@wandfoundation.org