St. Maarten Lions Club members presenting a gift certificate and a grocery bag of fresh produce to a senior citizen.
SUCKER GARDEN--The St. Maarten Lions Club donated gift certificates and bags full of groceries to 48 families on Sunday.
This project was an offshoot of the club’s “Teach Me to Fish” project, which was first held in January. In the “Teach Me to Fish” project, the club donated shopping bags of groceries to 20 families. The families also received cookbooks with easy, low-cost recipes.
The club decided to focus on persons living with diabetes in Sunday’s project.
“The COVID-19 pandemic caused serious issues with so many persons losing their jobs. The government attempted to assist these persons, but after seeing the items that were given, it was clear that more should be done for people with diabetes since almost everything given should not be consumed by persons with diabetes,” said the club in a press release on Tuesday.
The club teamed up with two general practitioners, White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation (WYCCF), and St. Maarten Seniors and Pensioners Association to identify recipients.
Club members then spent their Sunday afternoon handing out the packages to the selected families in Pointe Blanche, Cole Bay, Philipsburg, Over the Bank, Dutch Quarter and St. Peters, among other areas.
The grocery bags were filled with approximately two weeks’ worth of food. The gift certificates can be used to purchase additional food items. The club also provided booklets with information about living with diabetes, which included recipes.
“The recipients were all very happy with the donated groceries and thanked the St. Maarten Lions Club for remembering them.
“The club would like to thank Cost U Less for sponsoring the bags.
“These projects are made possible through fundraising events hosted by the St. Maarten Lions Club, such as our Lions Christmas Bingo and Car Raffle,” said the club.
