NEWSLETTER
A new feature to our website, here we will be updating you all Quarterly on news and happenings at The Orchard.
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Thank you for supporting us!
November News
October Food Drive done and dusted the weekend of the 19th, our 9th Food Drive of the year! The unpredictable weather threw us a few scheduling curveballs but we are a pretty adaptable and nimble bunch, so with the commitment and hard work of our wonderful volunteers and distribution network we delivered full bags of groceries to almost 130 families across Provo, North and Middle Caicos.
Fun fact: although some of our families are unable to work (maybe due to health issues), or are struggling to find work, many of them are actually working families. But one (sometimes part time) basic salary doesn't even scratch the surface with multiple people to support, school expenses, clothing, rent and bills, and that's before any unexpected expenses. Just surviving through the week is a lot to manage for so many people in our community so a little helping hand really is gratefully received, and believe us, absolutely deserved for these hard working folk who are just trying to keep their heads above water.
As always, a MASSIVE thank you to our generous donors, sponsors and supporters. And of course a huge thank you to all our amazing volunteers for all your time and hard work, and an extra special shout out to all our fabulous distribution network too. Each one of you selflessly giving so much of your time and resources to help others.
Next Food Drive will be November 22nd/23rd, which will mark our Five Year Anniversary! Can you believe it? We certainly can’t! Please reach out if you want to get involved, you know where to find us.
Which segues us nicely into our next announcement……. it's nearly Christmas Party time! Whoooo hooooo!
We are DELIGHTED to announce the date for our 3rd Christmas Party on December 5th. Thanks to your amazing generosity last year we raised some fantastic funds to get us off to a flying start for 2024, and with a little luck we are hoping for bigger and better this year.
If you have been before then you know you won't want to miss out, details on how to get tickets will be coming soon. But until then, pop it in your diary!
And do please let us know if you are able to support our silent auction or raffle, your kindness is soooo important to the success of this event and it really does make such a difference to lovely humans who really need a little support.
‘How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world’ - Anne Frank
August News
Last weekend (and running over into this week to coincide with back to school dates!) we completed our August Food Drive. This was our 7th Food Drive for this year, which means well over 1,100 bags of groceries have been distributed so far for 2024. It has certainly saved us a few ‘arms’ sessions at the gym 😎
We also distributed loads of ‘back to school’ items for many of the children on our outreach list; rucksacks, stationary, uniform items, shoes etc. These additional and essential expenses add up to an awful lot for many of our Moms so we were delighted to be able to help.
Of course, none of it would be possible without you, So a MASSIVE thank you to our generous donors, sponsors and supporters. And of course a huge thank you to all our amazing volunteers for all your time and hard work, and an extra special shout out to all our fabulous distribution network too. Each one of you selflessly giving so much of your time and your hearts to help others.
And finally a thank you to all you fabulous people that joined us on August 8th for our Saxaphone Sunset Cruise, kindly supported by Lady Grace. The weather was perfect, the music was fabulous, and the drinks were flowing! What a lovely treat. We hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as we did.
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Next Food Drive is September 27th/28th, you know where we are if you want to get involved! And for those that have kindly asked about bank transfers: we bank with BCB, and unfortunately their set up doesn't allow other bank to bank transfers. But: you are welcome to deposit a cheque or cash at their office in Leeward for 'The Orchard TCI’ (a/c no 831100263), or drop it to us (or we can collect from you!) and we will take care of the deposit. And a reminder that because we operate as a zero overheads organisation (no salaries, no office or utilities costs, no transportation costs, no personal expenses etc etc), you can be assured that every single dollar you donate will go directly towards supporting vulnerable families.
And we do love to hear from you, please get in touch if you have any thought or suggestions! You can email us here, and don't forget to follow our facebook and instagram pages too, you can drop us a note there if that's easier. And of course please do check out our website as well! It’s still in its infancy but we hope to make it a ‘go to’ place for you all. Details for each channel are in this email signature.
Have lovely weekends, y’all! As always; stay safe, stay healthy, and continue being amazing.
‘What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other. - George Elliot
April News
Food Drive
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It's April already! If you follow us on our socials you will know that we delivered our monthly Food Drives January through April and our now planning our May Drive, time sure does fly!
As always, a MASSIVE thank you to our generous donors, sponsors and supporters. We see you, and we are just so grateful for your unwavering support.
Well over 250 (we aren’t quite sure, we didn’t count them all!) grocery bags full of tinned vegetables, pasta and rice, long life milk, tinned meat and fish, dental care items, soap and sanitary products, oatmeal and grits, teabags and hot chocolate, kids snacks, fresh fruit….etc etc delivered every month. Every bag, packed as always, with the specific needs of each recipient family in mind. And of course many many bags full of much needed diapers, wipes and formula to those Moms who really need them. Every single bag distributed directly to around 130 vulnerable families across Provo and North/Middle Caicos.
Thank again to all our amazing volunteers for all your time and hard work, and a huge shout out to all our fabulous distribution network too, who give so much of their time and energy to helping others. It truly takes a village!
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Corporate Donation
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Additional thanks this month to Affinitiv, a lively and warm corporate group who made a generous donation to The Orchard TCI in advance of their arrival, and with which we bought tables and tables full of household cleaning, laundry and personal care items. With everyone’s help these were swiftly dispatched into grocery bags which meant that last weekend, every single family also received a bonus bag of valuable and much needed items alongside their ‘regular' deliveries. Also a HUGE thank you to the amazing team at NILA Destinations who helped coordinate the whole thing, and who definitely went above and beyond to make it all happen!
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Affinitiv employee volunteers came to fill 100 bags with household items for our families
Household cleaning products are expensive and out of reach for many of our families, these bags will go a long way to keep their homes clean and safe
A big thank you to Bella (Orchard regular) as well as Luise and Jo from NILA for all your hard work
Affinitiv employee volunteers came to fill 100 bags with household items for our families
December News
Arts & Crafts Fair
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We kicked off on Dec 2nd/3rd with a table at the Salt Mills Craft Fair, what a fabulous couple of days! Thank you to Eleanor McKnight for donating a beautiful painting that she created especially for us to raffle off and raise funds, and to little Louis Kendrew for picking the winning ticket.
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Fundraiser!
Then swiftly onto Dec 7th, when we hosted a truly epic Christmas Party/Fundraiser. Thank you so much to everyone who came down to Sharkbite in brilliant and hilarious festive outfits and totally brought the party, it was SO MUCH FUN and we loved every minute. To Shannon and Mike and the Sharkbite team, to Chef Joey and John at Baci as well as Sharkbite for the delicious food, to our amazingly generous silent auction donors and our kind raffle prize donors, to Raj The Entertainer, and of course to you; who bought raffle tickets by the mile and who bid on our incredible silent auction prizes with an enthusiasm that was almost terrifying at points. We love every one of you, and your amazing energy and generosity meant we raised just over $30k! We are absolutely, utterly and totally blown away. And we are already planning bigger and better for next year!
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Christmas Food Drive
December 12-16th was our epic Christmas Food Drive! 120+ families across North and Middle Caicos and Providenciales received bountiful and overflowing bags of essential groceries, baby items, hygiene products, cleaning products and load and loads and loads of Christmas extras. Thanks again to The Source for your generosity.
And the Toy Drive! Every single one of the 190+ children on our outreach list got something for Christmas, thanks to you! You all brought such carefully chosen items, and we made sure to get something appropriate to every single child. Many will open their gifts with their adult guardians on Christmas Day, but for some it was just too exciting and they couldn't wait. To see the absolute joy on the faces of deserving children when they saw their gifts was such an amazing blessing and it felt like Christmas had come early for us all.
And for all of your grocery and cash donations outside of the above too, we really are beyond grateful. It's just so amazing to know that we can continue what we do far into next year, and for those families who really deserve some help to know we can be there for them is a truly incredible feeling.
Thank you, from the absolute bottom of our hearts.
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Humans Rights Commission Award 2023
In other news WE WON AN AWARD! On December 9th we put on our mascara, ironed our frocks and The Orchard TCI was presented with 'NGO of the Year 2023' at the Humanitarian of the Year Awards, hosted by the TCI Human Rights Commission. We absolutely do not do what we do for any recognition, so we were totally knocked sideways when they called our name out. Humbled doesn't even cover it and we still can’t believe it! Attached is a photo of our lovely Pastor Kenneth, one of our amazing distribution team, with our award. The Orchard TCI really is a team effort and we are so grateful to everybody involved for their hard work and selfless contribution.
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And with that, lovely ones, we pretty much wrap up 2023. Its been an honour and a privilege to be able to do what we do, and we are so excited for next year already. But until then we hope you all enjoy Happy Holidays, and please know that your generosity has brought a little light and comfort to lovely humans who really deserve it.
As always; stay safe, stay healthy, and continue being amazing!
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