FirstCaribbean looking for unsung heroes

rosanna villanueva

The First Caribbean International Bank today launched the seventh annual unsung heroes program. It’s an initiative to highlight the work of everyday people who give back to their communities simply for the sake of doing good rather than with expectations of rewards and recognition. Over the past seven years of the program, Belize has won the title of Regional Unsung Hero four times and the bank is hoping for another win this year. So as of today nominations are being accepted and the winners will be announced later this year. News Five spoke to the local coordinator of the program, Rosanna Villanueva.

Rosanna Villanueva, Local Coordinator, Unsung Heroes Program

“It is a program whereby the bank seeks to encourage persons to seek out those persons in their communities who are literally unsung heroes, who are doing work for the community, helping others with little or no regard for any compensation. They are not seeking any rewards, they are not looking to be known in the community as such, they are just doing the work because they want to help their fellow man. So we are trying to encourage people to look around their communities and find those persons who they think would be an unsung hero or who is an unsung hero.”

Delahnie Bain

“And how do you submit your nominations?”

Rosanna Villanueva

“Our nomination forms are available at all our branches. We have branches in Belize City on Albert Street and at the San Cas Plaza. We also have branches in Dangriga, in Belmopan and in San Pedro. Also you can visit our website at www.firstcaribbeanbank.com and the website has the nomination form available electronically. You can fill it out, print it and either mail it in or submit it to one of our branches. The unsung heroes, first of all being chosen as a finalist or as a local winner, they get some recognition for the work that they do because in general these persons go about doing their work every day and may it not really be known what it is that they’re doing. They are also honoured at functions that are sponsored by the bank so the bank will have an award ceremony in their honour. Also the local winners receive US six thousand dollars towards their cause, so that definitely will go a long way to assisting them to help more people. If they’re a regional winner, they get another US seven thousand five hundred dollars also towards the cause and if they are a regional runner up they get another US five thousand dollars.”

The winning Unsung Heroes are chosen by a local committee made up of Sylvaana Udz, Patrick Jones and Lily Bowman along with bank representatives