As Senior Citizens Month (which is celebrated in September) drew to a close, and the International Day of the Older Person on October 1 approached, the BARP Charitable Trust – the charitable arm of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP) – embarked on a project to present a hamper to a senior BARP member in every parish.

This project was made possible through a generous donation from Canada Life Reinsurance. Canada Life Reinsurance is a division of The Canada Life Assurance Company and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates. The global company has a headquarters office in Barbados.

Gareth Dobson, Barbados Branch General Manager said, “Canada Life Reinsurance is proud to support the BARP Charitable Trust to deliver this worthy project for our senior citizens. Supporting local communities is a core part of our company’s values. Initiatives like these are made possible by the efforts of our great Barbados team, the dedicated work of our Sustainability Committee and strong corporate support.”

The hampers included non-perishable food items, drink, toiletries, towels and word puzzle books for mental stimulation and entertainment. These items were carefully selected by the Trust to suit the needs of the recipients, the majority of whom are in their 90s. Members of the Board of Trustees and the BARP office staff packed the hampers and personally delivered them to the BARP members around the country.

Chair of the Board of Trustees, Justice Elneth Kentish, expressed appreciation to Canada Life Reinsurance saying, “We are deeply grateful to this company for assisting the Trust in carrying out its mandate of helping BARP to ensure that our treasured seniors can live out their golden years in comfort and dignity. We could not do this work without corporate support.”