On 10 September, more than 325 people attended the “Red, Gold & Soul” dinner and dance in celebration of the Cayman Islands Red Cross’ 50th anniversary.
Billed as part of the local chapter’s “A September to Remember,” the dinner and dance received the best attendance of any previous Red Cross annual dinner/dance. The event, which sold out three weeks prior to the date, raised CI$80,000 for the local Red Cross.
“The Dinner/Dance was the place to be on 10 September,” said Mr. Jason Waters, vice president and country head of RBC Royal Bank in the Cayman Islands. “RBC is proud to be associated with the Red Cross and to be the presenting sponsor of all of the CIRC’s ‘September to Remember’ events, including the 14th annual charitable golf tournament earlier this month. We hope our support will allow the Red Cross to continue its outstanding work in the community.”
The dinner and dance took place at the Governor’s Ballroom at the Westin Casuarina Hotel and featured performances by tribute artists for the legendary ladies of soul. The artists, who were from Toronto, Canada, performed three acts: The Supremes, Donna Summer, and finally the Queen of Rock and Roll, Tina Turner. “We pulled out all the stops for this celebration,” said Ms Jondo Malafa Obi, Director of the CIRC. “The performances by the tribute artists were enjoyed by everyone. Many people danced and all had a great time.”
Ms Vicki Wheaton emceed the event. Ms Janilee Clifford, one of the founding members of the Cayman Islands Red Cross, was among those at the event. She spoke about how much the Red Cross has grown since it was established in 1961. Ms Clifford became involved with the Red Cross under the chairmanship of the late Rev. John Gray. She served as secretary for about 15 years, starting in 1973, and was awarded lifetime membership and Cayman Islands Red Cross Badge-of-Honour in 1993.
RBC has been a major supporter of the Red Cross since entering the Caymans in 1964 and has been the presenting sponsor of the annual golf tournament for the past 14 years. “RBC has a long-standing relationship with the Red Cross,” said Mr. Andrew McCartney, head of investments, wealth management in Cayman. “At RBC, one of core values is to give back to the local communities where we do business. Our support of the Red Cross achieves that goal in a very meaningful way.”
Following a video about the extensive work of the Red Cross, Mr. Andrew Mclaughlin, CIRC Chairman, touted the organisation’s dedication to the community, including the contributions of more than 200 volunteers. To further the work, Mr. Mclaughlin asked everyone at the event to make a pledge of at least one dollar for every year that the Red Cross has been in Cayman. “We received just over CI$10,000 in pledges, which exceeded our expectations,” Ms Obi said.
At the end of the evening, the general manager of the Westin Casaurina Hotel decided to waive all the fees related to the event. “The Red Cross plays an absolutely vital role in our community,” said John Wagner, general manager of the Westin. “We are pleased to be able to support the work of the Red Cross in this way and have decided to make the CIRC our charitable organisation of choice.”
“We were so surprised to receive this unexpected donation,” Ms Obi said. “Our sponsors really made our 50th anniversary events possible. We can’t thank them enough and want to especially thank RBC as our long-standing partner in the community.”
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