Kingstown, Tuesday 5 th January, 2023/SVBLA – The St. Vincent Building & Loan
Association (SVBLA) partnered with Red Root SVG, a local NGO, to donate school
supplies to three families with children in need of support.
The initiative, dubbed the ‘The Backpack Giveback’ saw Antonia John and Delicia
Francis who are now first formers at the Intermediate High School as well as Ronald
Isaacs, a student at the Chateaubelair Methodist School, receive backpacks with school
supplies courtesy SVBLA; supplies included geometry sets, water bottles for the students
to use to keep them hydrated, drawing books, folders, notebooks, crayons, colour pencils,
exercise books, pencil cases, pens and pencils among other supplies.
SVBLA noted that re-entering the classroom environment can be stressful on its own but
returning to school without the necessary supplies can increase feelings of anxiety and
concern. The financial institution further stated that helping children succeed today builds
a better future for everyone and that they are happy to be able to alleviate some of the
pressure on families that need support, especially since many families spend hundreds of
dollars to send their children back to school.
Red Root SVG expressed its elation on the collaboration and also cited the successful
outcome of its back-to-school campaign which encompassed the distribution of essential
supplies including backpacks, school shoes, educational materials, and notebooks, all
designed to benefit the children; this included school supplies for Janila Francois who
will be attending the Fitz Hughes Government School. Furthermore, as part of this
commendable effort, parents made valuable contributions by providing gently-used
textbooks, and in return, they received the necessary schoolbooks required for their
children's academic journey.
Red Root’s campaign and its support of the SVBLA ‘The Backpack Giveback’ initiative
exemplifies its unwavering dedication to ensuring that children have access to the
resources they need to excel academically and thrive in their educational pursuits.
SVBLA has a tradition of supporting communities having previously teamed up Red
Root SVG in 2021 to distribute Christmas gifts to families in SVG as well as
continuously engaging in community efforts. Education and educating the community is
also near and dear to SVBLA hence the existence of its scholarship programme as well as
its support of the recently concluded Girls Empowerment Summit which saw SVBLA
collaborating to present a financial literacy session to girls between 10 and 15 years of
age as well as supporting the recently concluded NBC Fun day and Junior Jeopardy on
air gameshow.
(END)
St. Vincent Building & Loan Association: Incorporated on July 04, 1941 but began
operations on January 03, 1941, is owned and managed by Vincentians, for the benefit of
Vincentians. Located at Halifax Street, Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the
Association was founded with the intention of providing Vincentians with a means to
practice thrift through regular, systematic savings and a way to experience the joy and
pride of owning their own home. Today, the Association offers a range of Services which
include: Mortgages, Regular Savings, Super Savers, Fixed Deposits and Insurance
products.