The Tribune

WE keep hearing it time and time again – charities and non-profits are finding donations harder to come by and the need greater than ever.

“Greater than ever” was the description given to the situation by Bishop Walter Hanchell, who does such an amazing job of helping to feed the community and in trying to help people get back on their feet.

Last week, he told The Tribune that “people line up right now from 7am to get a hot plate of food or a bag of grocery. That’s how bad it is right now. We’ve never seen it like this. And so we need help. People are crying, crying out for help”.

He appealed for corporate Bahamas to help to buy Christmas gifts for children who, he said, “many of them have no fathers in the home”.

He said: “We have to supply Christmas meals. Grocery. We serve 600 hot meals every day to people that come to us looking for a hot meal because, you know, they don’t have it.”

He added that “the need is massive” and said “we are stretched to the limit”.

Bishop Hanchell will find no comfort in the fact that his organisation is far from alone in dealing with such need.

Yesterday, a number of non-profit organisations outlined the needs they are facing.

Over at the Ranfurly Homes for Children, Christmas gifts are needed for the young people there.

Administrator Ingrid Deveaux noted the $850,000 annual costs of running the organisation – and said $10,000 would cover the home’s holiday expenses, including a Christmas dinner, gifts, decorations and, note this one, it will crop up again, utility bills.

The light bill is also on the mind of the Good Samaritan Senior Citizens Home, where the BPL charge ranges from $1,000 to $2,000 a month.

Dr Sinymae Capron said: “The light bill is the highest here, and I’ve got to keep it on.”

Dr Capron noted that donations are down this year, while grocery prices are up, a double sting in trying to make funds go as far as possible.

Over at the Children’s Emergency Hostel, there are also concerns over utility bills – not just electricity but cable and phone services too.

The light bill there is $4,000 a month alone.

The hostel is hoping to raise $18,000 to cover utility expenses for the holiday season – and also to pay for school uniforms.

Across at the Bahamas Humane Society, there has thankfully been a steady supply of donations, but the society is appealing for 50 buckets for dogs’ drinking water.

Across the board, there is need. The question is, what will we do to meet that need?

We know it is hard for many people – that is shown by the rise in demand, by that “greater than ever” comment by Bishop Hanchell.

So for those of us who can give, there are many organisations that could do with just a little help. People might not be able to afford a lot, but every little bit does reduce that need, one dollar at a time.

So if you can? Perhaps a few dollars for a gift for a child who otherwise would not have one. Perhaps a small donation to keep that light burning in a home, be it for a child or a grandparent.

These are far from the only organisations that have such a need. They will all welcome what support you can give.