A deed loaded with nobility

Last Saturday’s charity football match staged at the Arnos Vale Two Playing Field in aid of the Salvation Army’s Orphanage located at Pembroke, is nothing short of a good gesture.

At the forefront of the effort were Oalex Anderson, Kyle Edwards and Chelsea Cordice, all relatively young national footballers.

But what is interesting is that the idea came from a simple post on Facebook made by Anderson, who expressed his desire to assist some young children here in St Vincent and the Grenadines, in a tangible way.

Anderson’s post immediately gained traction, with others coming on board for the cause.

With the necessary organisational wheels put in motion, the idea was to gather in donations of clothing, toiletries, school supplies, as well as cash, to suffice the needs of these children, whose lodging and comfort rest at the Orphanage.

Yes, there has been such gestures done before, however, the fact that it came from some young footballers, speaks volume for persons of that age group.

Often times, the bad decisions of a few young people are lumped and tabooed, as most or all young people are labelled as worthless and persons of innate deviance.

Not to be left out is the Wet Men football team, as they readily threw their hearts, hands and feet in ensuring that the activities on Saturday were a success.

The Wet Men, who are basically members of the Black Sands Swim Squad, showed their benevolence early in the year, when they took on the task of painting the orphanage.

We are aware that there are many who give generously to charities here and would, from time to time, have major fundraisers, to aid unfortunate others.

Not that this column is questioning the integrity of those who promote their activities, but they do so with the charity end secondary to them, profiting financially from the event.

Whilst this column is yet to ascertain the extent of last Saturday’s activities, whatever was realised would be worth the weight of gold, as it was one hundred percent in aid of the Salvation Army’s facility.

The intake from the football match, which also involved the sale of drinks and food, the proceeds would have been able to bring some joy to the eight children, ages 4 to 12, who are currently housed at the orphanage.

The reason for this column to make this week’s exposition on last Saturday’s activities at the Arnos Vale Playing Field, was that calls were made in an edition last month for our sportsmen and women, in their own small way, to give back something to their communities and to their country.

So here they were, Anderson and Edwards, not ones that were born with a proverbial gold spoon in their mouths, but knew of their hardships while growing up in Barrouallie. So whilst they are not orphans, they would have seen what it is like not to have certain things which would have made their lives happier.

In the case of the two, they have been able to use the sport of football to prop themselves up, albeit in a short professional career thus far.

Mind you, they are in no way mega sporting stars who rake in millions, but they have enough and are wealthy in the need to facilitate giving back and to get things in motion.

Charities and foundations are the standard procedures of professional sports people, so Anderson and Edwards basically fell in line with this practice.

Hopefully, the undertaking of Anderson and company, will spur individuals, as well as those who have it more than others, to find ways of extending some material help to those who need it.

A little can mean a lot to those who have nothing.

Blessings to all for this Christmas season !!!