Community builds new home for ARK

A charity that has rebuilt homes for some of the most underprivileged families in Cayman, is finally getting a place of its own.

In a reversal of the usual formula, this time Acts of Random Kindness will be the recipient of the community’s kindness.

With the aid of volunteers, a derelict former health centre, on the site of West Bay public library has been renovated and repurposed as a headquarters for the non-profit, which provides housing and education support, among other services, to families in need.

The transformation took less than two months and will be completed by a team of 70 volunteers from US company, Edmentum, who are flying in to put the finishing touches to the project ahead of a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sunday.

It will primarily serve as a home base for ARK’s Mentor Educate Reinforce programme, which provides learning intervention for struggling children.

The building, adjacent to Sir John A Cumber Primary School, has been leased to ARK by the government for five years at a peppercorn rate.

Private donors, including US-based Edmentum, which made a sizeable financial contribution as well as donating the time and support of its staff, were instrumental to the project, according to ARK.

Local donors include SureBuilt Construction, which managed and undertook the renovation works pro bono.

ARK founder Tara Nielsen said the building would be an ideal home for the MER programme.

According to a press release from the organisation, “MER is an education initiative that provides specialized intensive learning remediation in Cayman’s Government primary schools, at a pivotal stage in the lives of underprivileged children with learning difficulties – as well as other support in the children’s home and extracurricular lives.”

Volunteers, principally 70 staff from Edmentum who have flown in to help complete the project as part of the business’s community outreach, will be on site Sunday. Cayman’s new governor Jane Owen will attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony later the same day.

Nielsen said, “We are thrilled to open the ARK HUB so we can welcome all precious children who need extra love, support and literacy intervention.

“Literacy is the foundation of lifelong success, and we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to learn and grow.

“The ARK HUB will make it possible to leverage the myriad resources of other key partner non-profit organizations. In this way, our center will provide students with the tools they need to succeed in school and beyond.”

Jamie Candee, president and CEO of Edmentum, said, “As an organization, giving back to the community is in our DNA. That’s why our employees will spend a day helping to build the ARK Hub.

“We are committed to ensuring that every student has the opportunity to reach their full potential.”

While government donated the property on a peppercorn lease, ARK was responsible for repurposing it to meet its needs.

Kent Burke, owner of SureBuilt Construction, which led the project, said many suppliers had also contributed.

“We are so pleased to make a positive impact in the lives of local students and our community and want to reiterate our thanks to all of our many suppliers of materials and labour who have selflessly donated towards this worthy cause. It was truly a team effort, that we are proud to be a part of.” 

André Ebanks, Minister for Social Development, who will officially open the centre along with Governor Jane Owen on Sunday, said government’s contribution was comparatively modest, but a sign of its creative approach to collaborating with the private sector. He said the partnership with ARK was a prime example of how it could help drive change in the community without providing simply ‘dollars and cents’.

He added, “We truly are blessed to have non-profit organisations such as Acts of Random Kindness that contribute to a robust civil society in the Cayman Islands.

“With its Mentor-Educate-Reinforce programme for children, entirely funded by private donations, ARK is creating immediate and long-term benefit to the future human capital of the Cayman Islands.”

Nielsen added, “On behalf of all we serve, ARK is profoundly grateful to Edmentum, Sure Built Construction, the Cayman Islands Government – in particular the Honorable Minister, André Ebanks, and the Ministry of Investment, Innovation and Social Development – and all of our supporters who have made this miracle possible.”

ARK invites the public to attend the grand opening celebration on Sunday, 30 April at 12:30pm for a formal unveiling of the building and the ribbon-cutting ceremony.