St. George’s, Grenada, 12^th November 2020 – Ms. Ayana Williams of Dougaldston, St. John is the proud recipient of the Unsung Frontline Heroes Award. Employed fulltime in one of the islands centres of learning, Miss Williams had the will and found the way to make her own miracle happen!

In spite of work obligations Ms. Williams decided that with the COVID enforced change of working from home, she would find a meaningful way of utilizing the extra funds which came from saving on travel and food expenses. Her goal was to use the monies to assist twenty families in need within her local community.

“Twenty was my goal and I felt that the thought to do so came from God, so I should go ahead, but it seems He had a lot more in mind than that. The whole idea spread like wildfire through my family, both on island and abroad, and they stepped up in a big way, it had a multiplier effect as more persons and even businesses joined with us to achieve our goal. At this point we have been able to assist eight hundred and eighty two families, raising over forty thousand dollars. So we moved the goalpost to one thousand families, just a bit more than our initial twenty!” Ms. Williams explained enthusiastically.

The organization which grew from the initial concept has been named “Acts of Kindness”, and in far exceeding its original goal due to the huge support it has gathered, has also made bulk donations to H.M Prisons and the General Hospital.

Billy De Roche, Retail Banking Manager for CIBC FirstCaribbean in presenting the cheque for $5400.00 stated; there were several very worthy nominations for this initiative. We know there are many, many persons in our communities who are involved in acts of giving and support, whose names we will never know,” he said.

“This initiative is a call to all of us to give acknowledgement to these persons in whatever ways we can, even if it only means taking the time to tell them ‘thank you’ and how much we appreciate them and their efforts. The good works of Ms. Williams and all those involved in this initiative is inspirational and gives all of us food for thought,” he concluded.

Ever thoughtful of others Ms. Williams, was anxious to take the opportunity to thank all of those who contributed to the huge success of the initiative, with particular mention of Michael Moorman, Phillip Thomas, Lee Matthews,  Andy Williams, the shops and supermarkets in the parish of St John and Grenada’s yachting sector. Her final words,” whatever you can do, give from the heart, whether it’s financially, in kind or emotional support, pay it forward, especially in these difficult times.”

Regional bank CIBC FirstCaribbean launched its FirstCaribbean Unsung Frontline Heroes initiative, in July 2020. It was aimed at giving persons the opportunity to nominate essential workers and persons from their communities who put service above self and reached out to others in a variety of ways during the Covid-19 crisis.