A lot of hard work and many hard miles paid off for Special Olympics Cayman Islands as they took possession of a new bus for the programme.
The purchase of the 29 seater bus was made possible in part by Derek Haines’ fundraising efforts during last year’s Cayman Islands Marathon. Haines raised the funds by soliciting sponsors, both companies and individuals, to support his marathon run, with Naomi Mitten joining the fundraising effort by taking part in the half marathon.
Haines was quick to deflect praise for the fundraising effort.
“Really you’ve got to say the applause goes to all the generous support we’ve had. In a time of financial downturn, for us to get the support we did is fantastic,” said Haines.
Donations from individuals ranged from anywhere between $25 and $1000, while companies that donated $5000 or more were honoured with a logo on the side of the bus.
The effort raised $67,000, which paid for the bus and left enough in reserve that the junior rugby programme could also benefit to the tune of $15,000.
According to Toni Johnson of Special Olympics Cayman Islands, the project was truly a community effort.
“It was totally a community effort and very much within the type of thing that Special Olympics does. We depend a lot on the goodwill that we get from the community, from our sponsors, from our families, and all of us work together to do the best for our athletes,” she said.
Johnson also said that the new bus will help facilitate the development of the programme.
“It means a lot to us because it allows us to keep providing the service for our athletes, especially the ones in the Eastern Districts. It is also a symbol of the growth of our programme because our last bus was a 14 seater and now we needed a 29 seater,” she said.
It was also a bittersweet moment for the organisation, as the new bus was one of the projects initiated by late chairman of the organisation Eric Crutchley.
“It was one of the special projects of our late chairman Eric Crutchley and bringing it to fruition is kind of bittersweet that we didn’t get there before he left us, but having completed it is really nice, we feel very good about that,” said Johnson.
Cindy Crutchley was in attendance to christen the bus that her husband had worked so hard to make a reality.
Nick Freeland, the current chairman of the organisation, said that even though it had been a long process to get the bus, the timing was just right.
“The timing of delivery of the bus is perfect as we’re getting it on the road just in time for the start of the new season of training this month,” he said.
In spite of the hard work Haines put in on this project, he is already looking towards his next challenge.
“What I’d like to do is encourage people to come on board again this year with Hospice. I think there are not many people in the Cayman Islands who have not had somebody they know, family, friends, who have not been assisted by Hospice and they need a vehicle and I’ll be doing the same this year. So I’ll be looking for people to ‘Hop on with Hospice’ this year.”
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