DCFS Xmas Gift Drive Gives Families, Children a Festive Holiday

The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in partnership with businesses, and private citizens once again held its annual Christmas gift drive for those children and families that may not have been able to purchase gifts for Christmas. This year the donors’ generosity exceeded all expectations, with the department receiving dozens of presents and one donation of nearly $10,000 from a local company.

Donations of toys, clothing, food hampers, bikes, tablets, gift certificates, cash and packaged presents poured in to the department’s offices from 17 donor companies, individuals and schools.

This year the programme started in early November with the department’s corporate and community partners contacting its coordination team to register what they wanted to donate or to ask what was needed by the mid-December deadline.

DCFS social workers and community development staff then inventoried all donations received, matching them to the needs or wish lists of their clients in each district.

All gifts received at the DCFS offices were then distributed by staff up to a week before Christmas with many donors specifying they would sponsor either families, groups of children or items from the DCFS Christmas list or the children’s wish lists. Others set up giving trees, gift drives and donation drives to meet their commitment.

Broadcaster, Cayman 27 hosted a Christmas for Kids party with food, crafts and games earlier this month, before taking children to the cinema. Hurley’s Media’s sales campaign also raised $9,137 for the department to buy gifts for Cayman Brac residents and children in care.

“The DCFS Christmas gift drive was a tremendous success this year with donors giving generously in larger amounts than ever before,” said the department’s Director Felicia Robinson. “I’d like to commend them for heartwarming generosity and thank my staff who organised the drive, which is always a major logistical undertaking in terms of coordination, collection, collation and distribution of donor gifts. This annual initiative goes a long way in ensuring our clients and their families enjoy a happy and memorable holiday.”

Other gift drive donors were CITCO Fund Services (Cayman Islands Ltd.), Deloitte, Cayman Airways, the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, CIBC Trust Cayman, Higgs & Johnson staff, the Mich Foundation, Grandeur Art of Hair, Cayman International School, Elizabeth Bise Donations in Kind, Montessori School of Cayman, St. Ignatius School, Cayman Prep School, both primary and high departments and the donation drive organised by high school student Nadia Hamaty-Simmonds).

IMAGES: (GIS)

Caption and photos Elphina Jones, GIS
DCFSChristGiftDrive1: Department of Children and Family Services staff L-r: Tina Ebanks, Leanora Wynter-Young and Director Felicia Robinson with some of the many Christmas gift drive donations.

DCFSChristGiftDrive2: Toys, clothing, food hampers, bikes, tablets, gift certificates, cash and packaged presents made up the bulk of gift drive donations.

DCFSChristGiftDrive3: L-r: Ritz-Carlton staff Alex Feoli, Camila Costa and Dan Ogal (far right) gave DCFS staff Leanora Wynter-Young and Melissa Alexander Christmas gifts donated by the hotel.