Over six hundred pairs of shoes were handed over to the Rotary Club of St. Kitts at its Thursday afternoon meeting at the Ocean Terrace Inn.  The donor was the 125 year old catalogue company, Avon, which has embarked on a region-wide programme called “Shoes for Charity”.

Greta Dahl-Keith, Avon’s Caribbean District Sales Manager, in giving a background to this programme, said that her company takes pleasure in giving back to the communities from which they earn.  She said that she had been in discussion about this project with Mr Scott Caines, Managing Director of C&C Trading, who is also a member of the Rotary Club of St. Kitts and who recommended that his Rotary Club spearhead the actual coordination of the project in St. Kitts.

Personal thanks were expressed to the management and staff of C&C Trading who are the local distributors of Avon products.  “We have been very impressed with the results that we have received from this market and have used the model from St. Kitts & Nevis in a number of our other markets in the region,” she highlighted.  “It’s because of the support we have received from this market why we feel so delighted in giving back in this form today,” she concluded.

According to Mr Scott Caines, three institutions have been identified to benefit from the donation of shoes valued at EC$24,000.  These are the Cardin Home, the Children’s Home and Children with Special Needs.  He reported that fellow Rotarian, Eustace “Stacey” Hobson would be responsible for coordinating the official handing over to these institutions at a later date.

Accepting the shoes on behalf of the Ministry with responsibility for the Cardin Home, Mr Andrew Skerritt, Health Planner, said he was deeply touched by the gesture. “Any decent society shows care and concern to its elderly,” he opined, as a pair of shoes was symbolically presented to him by Ann Saunders, General Manager of C&C Trading.  “Many inmates have not had a new pair of shoes and will be happy when they are presented with a pair,” he added.

The Rotary Club of St. Kitts will coordinate the handing over of the shoes as part of its social outreach initiatives over the coming weeks.