CNB assists Rotary with Paloma clean-up on the Brac

(CNS): After collecting more than $120,000 in Paloma Recovery donations from an international assortment of benefactors, Grand Cayman Rotarians are now being called upon to roll up their sleeves and prepare to spend 7 March rebuilding the lives of Sister Islands residents. Cayman National is supporting that effort by sponsoring the cost of refreshments and t-shirts for the volunteers on that day. A release from Rotary says that more than 100 applications for assistance have flooded the Brac Rotary Club after the public was notified in January about their post-Paloma recovery efforts. (Left: CNB’s Claudia Welds and Rotary Sunrise President Woody Foster)

The massive clean-up and demolition event is being coordinated by the Rotary Club of Cayman Brac. Approximately 50 Rotarians from Grand Cayman will pay their way to the hard-hit Sister Islands and tackle a variety of tasks requested by the residents themselves.

To ensure that every penny donated to Rotary’s hurricane fund is spent on the needs of Brac residents, Cayman National has generously agreed to provide a special edition “Paloma Recovery TaskForce” t-shirt and a mid-day meal for each Grand Cayman volunteer taking part in the Brac effort on March 7th. As Mrs. Claudia Welds, Cayman National’s spokesperson, notes, “Once again, Cayman National is proud to support these efforts which will assist in the recovery process in the Brac, enabling residents to resume a better quality of life.”

Brac Rotary President, Alphanso Gayle, has issued the following challenge. “I urge all of my fellow Grand Cayman Rotarians to fly to the Brac on March 7th and embody our 2009 theme of ‘Making Dreams Real’ by living out our motto of ‘Service Above Self’. We are certainly grateful for the international outpouring of cash donations to the Brac relief effort, despite the world’s current economic climate. However, March 7th will be a day devoted to physical service that is badly needed within our community.”

Hurricane Disaster Committee Chair Andrea Stevens continues to encourage residents of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman to utilize the help being offered. “Rotarians from across the country will be willing and ready to help. But first, the residents have to let us know their needs by submitting an application.”

Residents can obtain an assistance application form at any post office in the Islands or from any Cayman Brac Rotarian. Recovery assistance will be determined on a case-by-case basis, with priority given to those most in need.

Many of the cash contributions donated to Rotary’s hurricane recovery efforts have been triggered by the post-Paloma updates offered online at caymanrotary.wordpress.com. Visitors to that site can learn more about Rotary’s efforts in the wake of this disaster and read comments from people around the world offering support and encouragement to the residents who are still struggling to rebuild their lives.