With the new academic year comes a new year of positive intervention for youngsters attending the PIN programme (Positive Intervention Now), an after-school programme developed by the Education and Youth Committee of St George’s Anglican Church that caters for young people who attend George Town Primary School. Volunteers from PwC have been delighted to be able to sign up to assist in helping to guide the youngsters for their fourth year of service, donating financial support and also their time and energy into keeping the programme alive.

As well as giving financial assistance to ensure that a facilitator is able to continue to work with the young people, PwC have also donated three laptops to help with homework assignments, an important part of the after school programme. In addition, volunteers from PwC spend Wednesday afternoons mentoring the youngsters, which includes helping with their homework as well as introducing fun new projects for the students to work on. Youngsters attend the PIN programme from 3pm until 6pm every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week, enjoying a hot meal as well as learning skills such as table etiquette, art projects, sports and sewing.

Angilynn Baraud, PwC’s Assurance and Business Development Manager, has been actively involved in coordinating the firm’s efforts to assist the PIN programme.  Mrs Baraud confirms PwC decided this year to broaden their input.

“While PwC has been delighted to be able to support the PIN programme over the last four years, we decided this year to increase our involvement by ensuring that the youngsters benefitted from mentoring by our staff as well,” she says. “We have enjoyed devising fun projects to spark the youngsters’ imaginations and we have begun this term with a photography project. We have given all participants a disposable camera and asked them to take photos with their cameras for a week. We are going to then have the youngsters display their best photographic work in a collage which we will then judge in a competition.  The project has been received with considerable enthusiasm so far!”

PIN Coordinator Ms Marlene Ricketts confirms that the PIN programme could not function properly without the input from corporate sponsors such as PwC. This year in particular, she says, she has been overwhelmed by the firm’s decision to help our further.

“Words cannot adequately express how truly grateful we are to PwC for all their assistance and commitment to the programme,” she states. “Having the volunteers come and spend their time helping the youngsters is of invaluable benefit.”