Grand Cayman, 20 November 2020: With lockdowns restarting around the world and entry to the Cayman Islands tightly controlled, many in our community continue to struggle with the economic impacts of the pandemic. In an effort to support ongoing relief and recovery efforts, the ‘Cayman Finance Cares’ programme, an initiative funded by Cayman Finance member firms, recently donated CI$113,000 to the Cayman Food Bank through the R3 Cayman Foundation.

R3 Chairman Bryan Hunter says he is grateful to Cayman Finance Cares for seizing the opportunity to double their impact through a donation to R3.

“We appreciate the generosity of the Cayman Finance Cares member organisations for this impressive donation in support of a local non-profit and for choosing to maximise their positive impact by donating through R3. This donation will matched by the Kenneth B. Dart Foundation for an additional CI$113,000 that the Readiness, Relief and Recovery Committees will distribute to impactful organisations and projects in our community,” he says.

Cayman Food Bank will receive the full CI$113,000 donation to support their food, utility and rent relief programmes which aim to alleviate the economic effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Cayman Finance Chief Executive Officer Jude Scott says: “Cayman Finance is incredibly grateful for its member firms who donated to the Cayman Finance Cares initiative in support of helping Cayman Food Bank to assist families in need during the crisis. To maximise this effort we are happy to be able to partner with R3 by having our donations matched by the Kenneth B. Dart Foundation which will have a greater impact in helping Cayman Food Bank reduce hunger in our community.”

Naomi Law of the Cayman Food Bank says the donation will help the charitable organisation expand its relief services in the community beyond food assistance.

“We are very grateful for the generous donations from both Cayman Finance and R3. The Cayman Food Bank has been working tirelessly to help those in need in our community’s from before COVID hit. Since COVID has impacted our communities on island, we are seeing a large increase in the needs presented,” she says. “As a result we have committed to set aside a portion of these funds received and have earmarked them specifically to help those in need in our community with additional needs over just food, although we will maintain our current support to the community with food assistance as well. On a case by case basis, our board is evaluating all requests for additional temporary support. We will continue do this until these specific funds are exhausted or until additional funds earmarked for these purposes are raised.”

Emerging Understanding of Long-Term COVID-19 Impacts

R3 Relief Chairman Woody Foster says the Foundation continues to invest in strong working relationships with its non-profit partners to better understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local community.

“Early on in the pandemic, the need for food relief was very apparent but now, as more unemployed workers have left the country a different picture is emerging,” he explains. “We understand the current economic conditions have exacerbated challenges for families and individuals who were already struggling before the borders closed and one of our main priorities now is supporting charities providing utility relief. Beyond the economic effects, we are also developing a better understanding of the long-term impacts of COVID-19 in terms of mental health, domestic violence, and education in our community.”

R3 is accepting grant applications from local non-profit organisations, or organisations exempted from non-profit status under current legislation. Eligible organisations with projects related to readiness, relief or recovery, should apply for funding using a short application available on the R3 website.