The Periwinkle Club yesterday received a much-needed boost in the form of a cheque for $1 million, which will go towards its palliative care support programme among other things.
The donation flowed from the Give Hope Hunts/Toucan Breast Cancer Awareness Promotion held during October last year by Toucan Industries Inc along with Nigel’s Supermarket, N&S Mattai Super-market, Survival Supermarket and the Bounty chain of supermarkets.
Speaking on behalf of the Periwinkle Club at the Georgetown Club, Camp Street, yesterday Dr Wallis Best-Plummer thanked the managers of the various businesses for their generous contributions.
She said the Periwinkle Club plans to use the proceeds from the donation towards its care-giving programme and its palliative care support programme, which is first and foremost on the agenda, as well as to further give support to cancer victims. Dr Best-Plummer said the club is also planning to target smaller health centres in its aim to bring cancer awareness to the public.
Dr Best-Plummer said the Periwinkle Club, which started in 2006, was initially meant to give support to women who were suffering from breast or cervical cancer, but has now broadened its scope to reach all cancer victims.
It is still in its early stages of growth, she said, and has 40 active members, who have been touched in some way or the other by cancer; either by having a family member who has battled/still is battling with the disease or a friend who has succumbed to it. The club has new members added on a regular basis. According to Dr Best-Plummer, over the past year the club has been involved in various activities like interacting with persons diagnosed with or suffering from cancer, and the general public, as a means of comforting and educating them; handing out hampers to persons in the end stages of life, both at home and the Georgetown Public Hospital; and training club members as caregivers to give support to persons in the end stage of life. She added that the care-giving service is new and is absolutely free to those in need. The club also visits distant areas such as Santa Mission, Linden and Fort Wellington to publicise the Visual Inspection using Acetic Acid (VIA) method of detecting cervical cancer. During the visit to Santa Mission, the club also gave out hampers to members of the community, and engaged girls in awareness talks about sexual activity and safe sex.
Present at the handing over ceremony were representatives from the various organisations, the CEO of N&S Mattai Supermarket, and some members of the Peri-winkle Cancer Club.
