Each year, the St. Christopher Children’s Home (the Home) holds a major fundraiser with the help of our Corporate Sponsors and the St. Kitts/Nevis Communities to supplement our annual budget. Contrary to what many believe, the Home is not a government agency and could not exist without the generous support it receives from the greater St. Kitts/Nevis communities.
The Home’s mission is to keep the Nation’s most vulnerable citizens safe, secure and relieve them of some of the emotional stress associated with being separated from their families.
Working together with our donors, last year the Home was able to increase its staff. This increase in staff made it possible to feed, clothe, counsel and house 20 children in 2018, 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
With a Community Outreach Grant from the Park Hyatt, and supplemented by funds from the Walk Run, we remodeled the Home’s kitchen bringing it up to industrial code standards and removing the termite infested wooden cabinets. For another undertaking, S.L. Horsford’s assisted in the purchase of the paint and supplies used by volunteers from the Black Professional Women’s Association of St. Kitts (BPWA), Ross School of Veterinary Medicine, and the Young Labour Party, along with help from current residents and staff all of whom helped paint the interior and exterior of the Home.
With the generous support from Terion, a local construction company and Christopher True, the Home now has some hurricane shutters on key windows and buildings which after the storms of 2017 highlighted the need for easy to install protection. To help connect the children with nature and healthy eating, the Home has completed its garden project. The garden project is funded through Global Environment Facility (GEF) small grants program. Included in the garden project is a shade house with water collection for irrigation. The Home has already planted and harvested lettuce, cucumbers, sweet peppers seasoned peppers and pumpkin. The shade house includes the installation of an electric fence, which is necessary to protect the produce from the large monkey population in the area. We are looking forward to increasing the produce that we plant which in turn will assist with the food costs of the Home and continue to provide healthy eating for the children.
For the comfort of visitors and staff, the Home’s Annex, currently used as an office space, is now equipped with air conditioning provided by S. A. Fry.
A few of the former residents of the Home, like Tishon Thomas owner of SKN IT Solutions, have been forthcoming with their support of our annual events and special projects throughout 2018.
ST. CHRISTOPHER CHILDREN’S HOME AND SERVICE LEAGUE
The Marriott Resort and Golf Course, who for the past nine (9) years have hosted the Annual Family Fun Run and will be hosting the event again this year. So, mark your calendars for Saturday, 5 October 2019 and come out and have fun with us as we celebrate our 10th Annual 5k run and 2k walk.
It truly takes a Village and our Village came together in a big way last year. We look forward to the best year ever as we start to prepare and plan some new events to celebrate our 10th Annual Family Fun Run. Watch for additional details on this and other Children’s Home events. Visit our webpage www.stchristopherschildrenshome.org and follow us on Facebook.
