Nurses on island are smiling a bit brighter today behind their masks after receiving a cash donation from Uncle Bas and Friends on Friday morning.
ZJB Radio’s morning show host Basil Chambers kept his promise to say thank you to local nurses as the second initiative in his Give Back campaign for 2021. On Friday morning, he presented 44 envelopes to Nurse Violet Brown and Nurse Brenda Daley each with $500 cash for nurses that work throughout the Ministry of Health in hospital and dental care. This includes those assigned to geriatric services in the Margetson Memorial Home.
Nurse Brenda Daley said the nurses are appreciative of the gift as a thank you for their hard work, especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic a year ago. Daley said the fact that the island has once again starved off a second round of the virus is worthy of note and the nurses are to be commended.
Chambers had promised after his previous campaign which gave $1000 cash to 25 small businesses that the nurses were next on his list. Through the generous support of primarily local businesses and residents, they were able to raise $22,000 for the nurses.
The donors include: Aravin’s Supermarket, Deepak Supermarket, Sugar George, Ashok’s Supermarket, Van Dyer Vital Auto Parts Ltd., Quentin Lee, David Lake, Brian Hollinder, Hyacinth and Nev, The Lakes, Yasmin White, Jerry Jarvis, Governor Andrew Pearce, Kristen Breuer, Gilmore ‘Popchow’ Williams, Marcus Sweeney, Moneygram\Angelo’s Supermarket, MSO Limited, and Soca Cabana.
Community leaders have been calling for the nurses to be given a bonus or other forms of compensation for their work during the crisis, however, this has not been forthcoming from the government.
Chambers, said his next Give Back campaign will be to support the current Helping Hands for Glendon fundraiser to purchase vital equipment for the local hospital.
The radio personality’s campaigns has raised $47,000 so far this year.
