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The Continental Airlines’ Toys for Tots Committee today handed over a check for $8,000 to the Hand in Hand Ministries. The money was raised in the committee’s hugely successful Rock the Runway fundraiser last year. In fact the fashion show was so successful that with the proceeds – the committee was able to host 200 children at a Christmas party on December 14th, donate gifts to children living with HIV on December 15th, and today – hand over the check for $8,000 to Hand in Hand Ministries which will be used to benefit children living with or affected by HIV. Toys for Tots Committee member Tanisha Vernon told us why those chose Hand in Hand.

Tanisha Vernon, Toys for Tots
“Hand in Hand Ministries is nothing new to Belize. We decided to target an organization that is in need and we know that HIV and Aids is a big problem in our community right now and since we are Toys for Tots, Hand in Hand Ministries works with children living with HIV and Aids so what a better organization to combine both together and that is how we chose Hand in Hand Ministries.”

Abel Vargas, Hand in Hand Ministries
“The money will be used primarily in helping the children at the outreach center which is a day center for children infected or affected by HIV/Aids. Primarily it is going to be used in the nutritional assistance program and also in the program where we give medication for opportunistic infections because as it is right now the need for what we call antibiotics and so forth has increased and now the medical people are calling for more specialized antibiotics which cost more so the money is going to be used for the children and the money for opportunistic medication and also for nutritional support.”

Tanisha Vernon,
“Everybody knows about the Haiti Earthquake Relief with the Red Cross right now, everybody has been giving donations and as a Toys for Tots Committee we decided that we wanted to be able to contribute as well, not only to Hand in Hand Ministries but also to the international need right now.”

The $2,000 check for Haiti relief efforts will be handed over to the Red Cross. Continental Airlines has pledged $100,000 to the relief efforts.

In December Cabinet announced that it would be giving the National Sports Council $40,000 to renovate and refurbish sporting facilities in the city as part of crime fighting measures. While $40,000 might not sound like much – according to the National Sports Council it is doing a lot. On Monday they began renovating 6 basketball courts and football fields in the city and they plan to upgrade four more before the project is finished. We met Sports Minister Elvin Penner and Director of the National Sports Council Anthony Michael at the basketball court on Euphrates Avenue which was one of the first courts refurbished.

Hon. Elvin Penner, Minister of Sports
“The suggestion was taken to Cabinet that we locate as much funds as possible to start refurbishing some of these sporting facilities and that is indeed what is happening here today. I believe this is the first facility that is being fixed up.”

Anthony Michael, Director – National Sports Council
“These gang people asked the government to look into this and to do something. The Prime Minister and the Sub-committee gave us their word that they will do something.

So presently we have projects going on right now here on Euphrates. We have going on at the Yabra Sporting Complex, the Wilton Cumberbatch, we went over to Martin’s, we went into the Lake I Division behind the Complex Building and when you walk back there with the bush and the grass and stuff you could barely could have seen the bleachers, especially behind the Complex. Those guys used machetes because weed cutters couldn’t cut that. They came in with machetes and they did the cleaning, they did some of the markings on the court, we are putting up new nets, we are actually fixing the lights so in the evening and so kids can go out there and play and stuff. We’ve done a lot of things so it is not a particular location we looked at. We looked at going into each division and trying to give back to the community and enhance their development in there.”

Hon. Elvin Penner,
“It will be up to our community, the Ministries that I mentioned, there will have to be a commitment from us to now go back to them and let them know that we have now done one of the wishes that you had that you said could lessen crime in Belize. So utilize these courts now and make sure we keep the youths active. I certainly do believe, I have always been a strong believer that any sporting activity certainly lessens crime.”

According to Anthony Michael, the work at the Euphrates Avenue basketball court cost $6,000.