From a bag of groceries for families in need of something a little bit extra and a gift to restore a child’s faith in Santa to a CI$1 donation towards a nourishing meal for a local schoolchild and the donation of leftover change in support of something much, much bigger – the local community brought tidings of joy and goodwill to many families in Grand Cayman through the 2nd Annual Camana Bay Christmas Give.

An integral part of the Town Centre’s busy holiday calendar, the Camana Bay Christmas Give is a community-driven initiative that inspires generosity and giving, both great and small, to twelve local charities and organisations. “As a popular destination for Grand Cayman’s residents and visitors to gather for holiday festivities, we saw a great opportunity to foster a spirit of giving among the local community,” explains Ken Hydes, VP Place Management & Experiences at Camana Bay. “There are many families in the Cayman Islands who are struggling to make ends meet, let alone give their children a memorable Christmas. The Christmas Give makes it easy for everyone to get involved and help some of Cayman’s most hardworking charities and organisations continue their great work over the holidays.”

One local organisation, Cayman’s ARK, drove their annual Giving is Receiving project to phenomenal success by providing sponsored grocery bags for the public to fill with food and gifts for the many families who are struggling in Cayman. “It was the biggest and best so far, as we had hoped,” says Cayman’s ARK member Sharon Galloway. “We handed out 1,500 bags to nearly 30 different businesses and 4 schools around the island, 300 bags were given out through The Discovery Centre in Camana Bay and then we handed out more to ARK members and other individuals.”

Throughout the week leading up to Christmas, ARK members, friends, family and volunteers worked hard to sort, fill and deliver 875 grocery bags to 175 families, helping nearly 500 people across Grand Cayman.

“The response we had back from our families was overwhelming,” recalls Galloway. “Some have received from us in previous years but to others it was an unexpected gift that really made their Christmas. We cannot thank Dart enough for the support they gave Cayman’s ARK. We’d also like to thank the Cayman community for their tremendous support and hope that they realize that an ‘Act of Random Kindness,’ however big or small, can really make a difference to someone else’s life.”

The Discovery Centre was also home to the Camana Bay Wish Tree, a Christmas tree decorated with suggested gift ideas for the public to purchase for children identified by The CAYS Foundation and the Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS). On Christmas Eve, a DCFS truck collected and delivered more than 100 gifts to families across Cayman, ensuring that every identified child received a gift on Christmas Day. “It has been our honour to be involved in the coordination, collection and distribution of donated gifts,” says Ernesto Carter, DCFS Donations Coordinator. “We humbly thank Camana Bay, the public and every anonymous person who helped to make Christmas for the kids under the Department of Children & Family Services’ care.”

“What is unique about the Christmas Give is that however you wish to give back – big or small, monetary or voluntary – it’s easy,” explains Hydes. “Our goal is to raise support and awareness for the many inspiring charities and organisations working in our community – and to inspire others to act in kindhearted ways, too.”

MailBoxes Etc. in Camana Bay launched their own brand new campaign in support of Feed Our Future, a local not-for-profit organisation that provides nourishing meals to children in need in Cayman’s schools.

Letters to Santa for Charity encouraged members of the public to purchase a special North Pole Stamp for CI$1 before dropping their wish list into Santa’s bright red mailbox. All monies raised from the sale of the stamps benefitted Feed Our Future’s school meal programme. “The campaign raised just over CI$650, which will provide over 100 meals to primary-school age children,” explains Lucy Tibbetts, owner at MailBoxes Etc.

In addition to the above activities, Camana Bay helped a number of other charities and organisations including the Cayman Islands Cancer Society, Cayman Islands Crisis Centre, Cayman Islands Humane Society, Lions Club of Tropical Gardens, Maple House, Meals on Wheels, NCVO and Sunrise Adult Training Centre.

“Each year, the Camana Bay Christmas Give grows as it touches so many in the local community,” adds Hydes. “After a successful second year, we cannot wait to see what 2013 will bring.”