WRC Hosts Annual Christmas Cheer!

Joyce Ellis

Today, the Welcome Resource Center held its annual Christmas program for thirty-six of its participants. The guests are the homeless, the mentally ill, as well as the elderly that the center caters to all year round.  Despite the challenges brought on by COVID-19, administrator of the Welcome Resource Center Joyce Ellis says it was still important that they spread love this holiday season for these vulnerable groups.  Ellis tells us more about how they carried out their activities while observing the health and safety regulations.

Joyce Ellis, Administrator, Welcome Resource Center

“We did play some games that had to do with social distancing and we read Christmas stories and answered questions. We asked them to put an end to a story and things like that. But it was the same sort of overwhelming gifts that they received and even more this year. I must say the center is blessed because we are getting several donations from several individuals and organizations to make this day’s activity possible for us. It was a very touching day for us because, for the first time since I am here for seven years, I actually saw my participants come to tears because of the love we are pouring out to them.   In their package, they got a food hamper that has bread, bun, milk, cheese, corn flakes, sausage, soda biscuit – that’s the food hamper. And then in their hygiene bags they got toilet paper, deodorant, soap, hand sanitizer, mask and also lotion. They also got two goodies bag with the normal Christmas goodies, applies, grapes, candy canes, chocolate and they got that traditional turkey dinner, ham, turkey, stuffings and their cake – the full works and a cake. Aside from those things they got we played games and they got additional things they could actually use for themselves. This year we focused mostly on personal items especially in relation to hygiene and we also gave them our homeless shirts which was a gift from the mental health association and the Welcome Resource Center – just to say thank you to allowing us to serve you.”

The Welcome Resource Center annual Christmas cheer for its participants was made possible through the support of the Belize Electricity Limited; Belize City Council; Lake-I Area Representative Cordel Hyde; Mask On; The Lions and Leos Club; Go Belize and ‘Eighty-Eightish’ which is the Class of 1988 from Queen Square Anglican.