Do-Nation Foundation Inc. Collaborates for Grander Good Deeds Day
By Do-Nation Foundation Inc.
Local non-profit organization, Do-Nation Foundation Inc., promises to make the observance of this year’s Good Deeds Day an even grander affair.
The official press launch of this year’s Good Deeds Day was held on Wednesday, February 1, at the Msgr. Patrick Anthony Folk Research Centre, at Barnard Hill, Castries.
Do-Nation Foundation inc. Is the lead organization for Good Deeds Day Saint Lucia, with Diane Felicien as the official Leader for Good Deeds Day Saint Lucia.
At that press launch, Diane Felicien, Founder/CEO of Do-Nation Foundation Inc., said it’s important that everyone plays a part in doing good. Over the last few years, she said, Good Deeds Day was hosted on smaller scale, with two or three organizations collaborating.
“What we have done recently was merged and formed the Good Deeds Day Saint Lucia Committee, which now comprises other organizations,” Felicien said. “We have come together to really start this movement and have it on a national scale to pass the goodness around.”
With runaway crime, people going missing, and poverty continuing to plague the minds of many, Felicien said the prevailing circumstances call for serious intervention.
“We need the goodness in Saint Lucia,” she stated. “Not just for us as a family or small community, but we really need to reach out there to the communities to those who don’t have someone to speak and care for them.”
The Good Deeds Day Committee comprises a cross-section of society who will join forces to spread the word of the importance of Volunteerism and Doing Good ahead of Good Deeds Day 2023, to be observed on April 16, 2023.
The Caribbean theme for Good Deeds Day 2023 is “Pass The Goodness Around”, with Teddy Pendergrass’s 1975 hit, “Wake Up Everybody”, being used as the theme song. The song calls for people to wake up, engage and make a difference.
Thus far, partner organizations include the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment, St. Lucia Hospitality Credit Union, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Where Ladies Talk, Saint Lucia National Youth Council, Blue Waters Ltd., Massy Stores Saint Lucia, DBS, National Community Foundation, FunToSee Island Water Ferry, among others. Participating organizations will receive a Good Deeds Day banner for two days and engage in whatever activities they choose.
The Good Deeds Day Saint Lucia Committee is part of a wider regional committee, including Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Haiti, Guyana, and Dominica, and are all part of the Caribbean volunteer exchange programme. However, these countries are also part of a wider international network which includes Dubai, Israel, the United States of America, Portugal, and Ghana.
“Whatever is happening in Saint Lucia on Good Deeds Day will be shared on the Good Deeds Day International Facebook page,” Felicien stated. “So we will be seen and recognized by the other countries. In fact, Saint Lucia is actually the model country for the Caribbean, the country that’s really pushing forward when it comes to the spirit of doing good and Good Deeds Day.”
She added: “As a Saint Lucian people, we are known for our koudmen style, this is what we grew up on. This is what volunteerism is about, this is what Good Deeds Day is about. We will be having a number of activities happening for Good Deeds Day. As Saint Lucia celebrates 44 years of Independence this year, we’re looking to have 44 organizations to be part of that ‘Pass the Baton Around’ initiative.”
This year, Saint Lucia will host a Miss Good Deeds Day Pageant as part of Good Deeds Day. It’s the first time that such a pageant will be hosted in the Caribbean and elsewhere, and the winner gets to attend the next Good Deeds Day conference which is expected to be held in Israel.
“We encourage everyone to follow our Facebook page where we will be posting our calendar of activities for Good Deeds Day 2023. We also encourage everyone to come on board and be part of Good Deeds Day,” said Felicien.
Meanwhile, Kendall Elva, Social Transformation Officer in the Ministry of Equity, Social Transformation and Empowerment, said the Ministry of Equity is cognizant of the various issues affecting society, such as such poverty, crime and violence. He noted that the cost of inaction can only worsen the impact of these and other issues.
“Saint Lucia is also plagued by a situation whereby a number of vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and children,” said Elva. “They struggle to make ends meet and, in many instances, many of these individuals are socially excluded. The Ministry of Equity believes there is a need for us to implement action to ensure that the needs of these individuals are met and resolved.”
Globally, hundreds of thousands of people choose to volunteer and help others, putting into practice the simple idea that every single person can do something good, be it large or small, to improve the lives of others and positively change the world.
Good Deeds Day unites people from around the world to do good for the benefit of others and the planet. Since 2007, millions of people from thousands of businesses, non-profits, schools, families, and individual good doers have taken part. Close to 3.9 million people in 108 countries take part, amounting to almost 8 million hours of volunteering.
