girls of grenada 2018

TO DONATE CLICK THE LINK BELOW* https://www.gofundme.com/for-the-girl... My name is Mary and I am the founder of 'For the Girls of Grenada'. I am so fortunate to live in the beautiful city of Sydney, have a happy and healthy family and run a successful mortgage broking business, Skybridge Capital Pty Ltd.

The Fundraiser:

For the third consecutive year, Skybridge Capital hosted the ‘For the Girls of Grenada’ annual charity fundraiser at the office in Strathfield. A new record of guests attended the event where over 120 people spent the day participating in fundraising games and competitions. The very talented Kristina Yannopoulos, owner of Keik & Ko once again very generously donated an extremely delicious savoury and sweet grazing table extending to 10 meters long.

The fundraiser could not have succeeded without the kind donations from our 20 plus major sponsors. This year we had many raffle prizes up for grabs including hotel vouchers, restaurant vouchers, electric tooth brushes, a premium bicycle and much more! The 2018 'For the Girls of Grenada' charity raised an astounding $18,000, where these funds were used to purchase college tuition, school supplies, food and basic living necessities for the people of Grenada.

The Trip

In 2018 I had the privilege once again of returning to Grenada. Lasting four weeks, the trip was heart-filling as I continue to learn more about Grenada’s culture and engage in new experiences. Along with me for the journey this time was as always, my dear friend John, my lovely daughter Victoria and friend Leisha. We began in Miami, where we shopped for:

6 months’ supply of food to feed 25 families
clothing for school kids
backpack and school supplies for a further 150 children
baby clothes for over 50 babies under the age of 2
laptops for the college girls
educational toys for over 100 children

Our friend Lotten Haagman kindly allowed us to have all the supplies stored at the hotel, so we could separate and distribute from there. With the help of Lotten’s gorgeous daughters, a great friend Mark who has been there since 2016, Victoria and Leisha, a few locals and college girls, we separated all the goods to start our distribution.

Amongst the 25 villages we visited along the trip, we stopped at Mt.Rich Pre-School to hand out school supplies for 30 children. Attributing to both their need for educational necessities but more importantly their morale. Holding onto that sentiment, across the trip we handed out school supplies to over 150 children.

There was a particularly special day we enjoyed at the Seabreeze Hotel in Grenada, where we celebrated for the 11 girls starting college and presented them with cheques; thanks to the efforts of all those involved in our charity. 5 of the girls received brand new laptops for their studies as we hope to provide the remaining 6 with the same later this year.

Note from Victoria

It’s been an incredible experience visiting Grenada and supporting Mary Yannopoulos  &  John Poulos with their charity “For the Girls of Grenada”! 

They became aware of Grenada's poverty and harsh economic climate, shaping their drive to increase the living conditions and general wellbeing for the women and children of Grenada. At a young age, girls are sexually abused and left on the street, many times impregnated by their own family members. It is a very expensive exercise to test the girls and charge the men, often leaving the issue unresolved. This year we visited over 20 families where we were confronted with 6-8 kids sleeping on one very old and wilted mattress and a mother struggling to provide for her family. The charity has also taken 11 girls through to college this year (including tuition, laptop, books and study supplies), with the hope the education will help secure them a job and allow these young women to provide for their families in the near future. Finally, they have been there to provide emotional support and leave the young women and children with a sense of hope and courage moving forward.

Thank you to everyone that has supported my mum with the charity, it wouldn’t be possible without you!