A Breath of Fresh Air

Filed Under: Salvation Army's School for the Blind
Thursday November 15^th, 2007

TimeWorks Helps Renovate Playground at Salvation Army’s School for the Blind

The students and staff at the Salvation Army’s Erin Gilmour School for the Blind on Mackey Street are enjoying some quality time outdoors following the refurbishment of their playground by TimeWorks, the volunteer arm of the Lyford Cay Foundation.

Several dozen helpers visited the school recently to clear up debris from the garden, cut back overgrown vines, pull weeds, plant flowers, repair fences, paint the swing set and hang brand new swings.

“This was a wonderful idea, and it could not have come at a better time,” said Lisa Armbrister, Administrative Assistant at the Salvation Army, who added that the children and teachers are extremely excited by the change in their surroundings and the opportunity to spend breaks outside enjoying the cool autumn weather.

“The transformation was the difference between day and night, literally,” said the Salvation Army’s Major Lester Ferguson. “It really afforded the children the opportunity to be outdoors more and, of course, being children, being able to play and get fresh air, that’s all a part of their development. I can’t even put it into words, but it has been an incredible help to the students and to the staff to have the playground renovated by TimeWorks.”

Major Ferguson said that the space will be used to teach the children about agriculture, and that some of the older students will be responsible for maintaining the new plants.

“One of the students who is partially sighted wants to be a farmer, so that’s right up his street, and this will certainly add to that part of his training,” he said.

The plants were a gift from Archer’s Nursery. Other corporate sponsors of the event were Nature’s Way Landscaping, which provided mulch and potting soil free of charge, and Bahamas Marine, which donated concrete and poured it in order to extend a patio. TimeWorks sponsors Pictet Bank & Trust, RBC Royal Bank of Canada and Templeton Global Advisors lent financial assistance as well as some of the manpower.

“We are extremely grateful to all of those who helped make this very worthwhile project possible,” said Suzy Robinson, Chair of the Lyford Cay Foundation’s Gifts and Grants Committee, which oversees TimeWorks. “The volunteers worked very hard at the playground, but we all found it very fun and inspiring, because at the end of the day the fruits of our labour were so clearly evident.”

Established in 2004 on the principle that the time and skills of people can be as valuable as their money, TimeWorks serves the Bahamian community by mobilizing a diverse group of individuals in volunteerism and civic engagement. To date, it has provided more than 3,000 ‘man’ hours to 16 local non-profit organisations.

In March of 2008, TimeWorks will pair with the Sunrise Rotary Club by sponsoring residents from one of the local children’s homes to attend the Annual Reading Fair, to be held at The College of The Bahamas. The event promotes literacy at every level.

The Salvation Army’s School for the Blind was established in 1948. Today it is a comprehensive educational facility for 19 blind and visually impaired primary and secondary students who are unable to attend the regular school system. Its specially trained teachers and state-of-the-art technology make it possible for the students to follow the Ministry of Education curriculum and sit for all of the national exams.

To find out more about the Salvation Army’s social and welfare programmes, or to make a donation, please call 393 2100 or 393 2340.