WCC Managing Director, Andrew Bishop, presents St. Lucia Red Cross Director General, Terrencia Gaillard, with a check for $2000.
Many of us associate the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) with just the annual yachting race. However, the ARC has also been making a substantial contribution to various spheres of Saint Lucia’s society.
This was evident last Thursday when the Managing Director of World Cruising Club (WCC), Andrew Bishop, made two check presentations to two local organizations. Bishop, whose organization manages the ARC’s trans-Atlantic rally, presented checks to the St. Lucia Red Cross and the Friends of Gros Islet.
The purpose of these funds is to aid the two organizations in their relief efforts following the December 24 trough which battered Saint Lucia, claiming six lives and leaving behind hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
During a presentation ceremony at the Saint Lucia Tourist Board (SLTB) last week, Bishop said the ARC has among its many objectives the core value of social responsibility.
“It’s very important for World Cruising Club that we do different things in the places that we go to in terms of charitable work,” Bishop said.
Bishop told the media that one of the projects that World Cruising Club has undertaken is a tree planting initiative which started in Las Palmas for the 25th anniversary of the ARC. This has since continued in Saint Lucia.
The club through this venture, had teamed up with the Rotary Club and the Department of Forestry. So far, there have been two tree planting exercises in the south of the island, one of which saw the participation of students as well as members of the Saint Lucia National Trust. Over 600 hundred trees were planted.
The venture may have proved to be very timely since it helped to strengthen the soil in that part of the area in Dennery from being washed away by the rain resulting from the trough system.
This year, the ARC participants went a step further in their support by donating funds towards charitable causes. The funds donated by the ARC participants were matched by the World Cruising Yachting Club, and was equally split between the Saint Lucia Red Cross and the Friends of Gros Islet. Each charity received $2,000. Bishop explained that the ARC aims at teaming with organizations that work directly in assisting the community.
“We always look for projects where we can have a direct involvement,” Bishop said. “It gives the participants a chance to get their hands dirty, so to speak, because they get to dig the holes and plant the trees.”
Director General of the St. Lucia Red Cross, Terrencia Gaillard expressed thanks to Bishop and the WCC, adding that the monies would be used to bring much-needed relief supplies to the long list of people who were adversely affected by the deadly trough.
“We’ve been serving over 1,500 families island-wide and the needs are really great, so this is going to really assist in our relief efforts,” Gaillard said.
John Emmanuel, Public Relations Manager of the Saint Lucia Tourist Board, said that the ARC, now approaching nearly three decades of call in Saint Lucia, has over the years done its fair share to enhance the tourism product by focusing on areas other than the race itself.
Last Thursday’s check presentations was preceded by the signing of a new five-year contract between WCC and SLTB officials which guarantees that Saint Lucia remains the finish line for the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers.