Basseterre, St. Kitts, October 21, 2019 (S.T.E.P.) — Ade’s Place, was on Thursday October 17 the beneficiary of an International Credit Union Day monetary donation from the St. Kitts Co-operative Credit Union Limited. International Credit Union Day is celebrated worldwide on the third Thursday in October.
“As part of our operating principles, we are supposed to give back to the community that we serve,” said Ms Julie Charles, Marketing and Member Services Manager of the St. Kitts Co-operative Credit Union Limited. “We figured that this donation will go a very long way in assisting persons who are beautifully and spiritually gifted.”
The Greenlands-based institution whose mission statement is ‘to provide a safe and secure place for young persons who are “differently abled” where they can develop to their fullest potential’ was established in 2005 to fill a void, and to provide a safe haven for adults with disabilities.
The cheque was presented at the offices of the St. Kitts Co-operative Credit Union Limited on Wellington Road in Basseterre to the Director of Ade’s Place, Ms LaToya Merchant, by a representative of the St. Kitts Co-operative Credit Union Limited, Ms Shalloyda Hewlett. Ms Merchant was accompanied by two trainees from Ade’s Place.
“Today we decided to give a donation to Ade’s Place, and we are grateful we can do that, and we hope to hear wonderful things from Ade’s Place,” observed Ms Charles. “We will continue to support them in which way we can.”
International Credit Union Day was this year celebrated under the theme ‘Local Service, Global Reach’. Ms Charles noted: “This is a day that is celebrated all around the world with all the credit unions – a billion-plus of us who are credit unions members both in St. Kitts and Nevis, the wider Caribbean, and throughout the world, and so I think this is a fitting token to the community that we serve.”
Ade’s Place Director, Ms LaToya Merchant, thanked the management and staff of the St. Kitts Co-operative Credit Union Limited for the timely donation, and more so their support of persons who are special and differently abled.
“We have always cooperated with the Credit Union,” noted Ms Merchant. “Ade’s Place has opened a savings account with them for our trainees because we want to encourage them to be financially healthy. It is a good thing when corporate citizens like the credit union give back to the community and to persons who are differently abled. We really appreciate the gift.”
Ade’s Place is managed by a Volunteer Board, and the Ministry of Education provides a meal for the trainees during the day. In a more encompassing move in the way training is offered to citizens and residents of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, in 2017 the Skills Training Empowerment Programme (STEP) took on board trainees at Ade’s Place in the national training programme. Currently Ade’s Place has 20 trainees under STEP.
