Staff WriterThe Caribbean community across the United States will host a Day of Giving mediathon on Saturday October 26th in support of the islands of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas recently devastated by Hurricane Dorian.
Building on the success of the 2017 Caribbean Day of Giving (CDOG) initiative which raised over US$40,000 in cash, the 2019 mediathon is an all-day effort to mobilize the Caribbean Diaspora and friends of the Caribbean to donate to the relief efforts. Through a growing list of participating media partners including Irie Jam Radio 93.5FM/IrieJam 360 and One Caribbean Television, monetary donations will be raised to support displaced residents of the affected islands. In addition to music, programs will feature interviews with Caribbean Government officials as well as representatives of CARICOM, Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) among other agencies who will share their first- hand experiences with the devastating impact of climate change, and provide updates on the relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts. Ambassadors, Consuls General, elected officials, notable personalities, and community leaders will be present to encourage the community and friends of the Caribbean to give to this effort.
“The catastrophic impact and frequency of recent Atlantic storms such as Hurricane Dorian is sadly the reality of the impact of climate change on our Caribbean islands” lead coordinator, Dr. Omyma David disclosed.
“Each time, our diaspora and friends of the Caribbean responds immediately with tremendous goodwill; however, the road to recovery is long and costly. Caribbean Day of Giving helps to build a culture of giving over the long-term” she noted.
The humanitarian initiative has received the endorsement and support of the New York CARICOM Consular Corps and the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams among others.
Monetary donations during the 2019 mediathon will go directly to the Caribbean Day of Giving (CDOG) charity partners, namely: the Bahamian American Association Inc. (BAAI) in New York City,American Foundation of the University of the West Indies (AFUWI) and the Sandals Foundation. The relief efforts will benefit several agencies actively on the ground in the Bahamas including CDEMA, HeadKnowles Bahamas, Hands for Hunger and Samaritan’s Purse.
Caribbean diaspora and friends of the Caribbean are also encouraged to support ongoing hurricane relief drives organized across United States and join the #Caribbeandayofgiving #Caribbeandiasporagiving campaign.
Caribbean Day of Giving (CDOG) is organized by a Caribbean Diaspora Disaster Relief Coalition in response to recent devastating storms and the increasing vulnerability of our small island states. This growing alliance of community leaders across the Caribbean diaspora was organized to help build capacity and strengthen response to natural disasters in the Caribbean region by promoting a collective response to disaster relief among the Caribbean diaspora.
For more information please visit website: www.
Media Writer
