Each One Reach One gives school supplies to those in need

Hundreds of families lined up at CedarBridge Academy this morning for school uniforms and supplies donated through the Each One Reach One campaign.

The back-to-school drive, organised by the Gina Spence Programme, offered essentials for students preparing for their upcoming start to the academic year.

While parents picked out uniform items, their children played in a ball pit to the sound of upbeat music in the CedarBridge dining hall.

Gina Spence-Virgil said the turnout for the giveaway had been amazing.

“People were here at 10am and we started at noon,” she added.

“We know the need is great and the numbers always confirm. We have got plenty of items. Our goal is to not have to turn anybody away and I think we will meet that goal today.”

Ms Spence-Virgil said that the charity was still collecting donations to reach its fundraising goal of $80,000. She noted that some individuals and groups continued to give even after the giveaway.

She added: “We have 40 families that we are serving all year, our champions, and after the summer uniform push for them is the winter, so the continued donations are very helpful.”

Ms Spence-Virgil said the support was helpful for families who may be struggling or who have suffered losses.

She explained: “Some students ended the school year with both parents — but when they come back in September there is going to be one.

“Others have had home displacement where they were all living together but because of circumstances now one is with their godmother, another is with their auntie.

“We have one situation where it was a fairly big family in which the grandmother was watching the children while her daughter was at her second job, but then the grandmother was diagnosed with dementia.

“Now, not only has that mother lost her second support but she has got to find a caregiver for her mom.”

Ms Spence-Virgil added that the Gina Spence Programme offered clinical support for those who have suffered grief or loss and offering school supplies helped to bring out those who needed the support.

Tony Thompson, the chief executive of Gibbons Company, said it was happy to continue backing the Each One Reach One campaign.

Mr Thompson added: “It’s always great to give back to the community and it is always lovely to see people here who I grew up with.

“Gibbons’s slogan is ‘For the way Bermuda lives’. We are a Bermudian-owned company and it is pretty much all Bermudians that work for the company, so we want to give back to the community.”