The Special Envoy for Women and Children, Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow and CARE-Belize are once again hosting a nationwide telethon to raise funds to complete and equip the Inspiration Center. The telethon will held on Saturday, June, 1st, 2013 at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts and once again, donation booths will be placed in strategic locations countrywide.
Construction of The Inspiration Center at 1.5 mile on the George Price Highway is well underway and the funds raised this year will be primarily used for the purchase of specialized equipment to provide physical and occupational therapy, medical care, recreational activities and other services catered to the needs of children with disabilities. The center will also serve as a community center with after-school classes for disadvantaged children from the surrounding communities.
The telethon will run from 8am to 6pm at the Bliss and will be simulcast on local TV and radio as well as streamed on the internet. Belizeans both at home and abroad will have various means through which they can donate to this important cause including by cash, depositing to the center’s bank account, through texting, billing pledges to their BTL accounts, credit card or even buying Inspiration Center T-shirts and hats. On June 1, both SMART and BTL customers will be able to access the telethon’s hotline 0-800-INSPIRE (467-7473), while international audience can dial 011-501-227-WISH (9474).
Residents are being invited to tune into the broadcast and/or come out to the Bliss to watch the show in person. Belizean artists will be performing all day long, special guest and volunteer phone operators will be stopping by, and we will be showcasing educational videos on the center and highlighting the plight and achievements of children and adults with disabilities.
The center is estimated to cost a total of $3Mil Bze; $1Mil of which was raised in the first Inspiration Telethon on June 30, 2012. It is hoped that with the continued support from the Belize public and business community that the doors of the Inspiration Center can open by the end of this year.
Leading up to the Telethon, a press conference was held on Tuesday, May 28, 2013, at the site of the Inspiration Center. The briefing was done to give the public and donors a look at the progress of the center.
“It’s important that the people of Belize know that when they donated last year for the Inspiration Telethon that their monies have been put to very, very good use and that so many children will be able to benefit from this center,” stated Kim Simplis Barrow to Belize City media. “We are hoping that by September, we will be at least ready for an opening and operation-wise by December.”
According to Mrs. Barrow, the Inspirational Center will offer different services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy and hydro therapy dealing with autism and so forth. The center has a long way to go and specialists and therapist as well as volunteers will be needed to get the place up and running but Mrs. Barrow is more than sure that this center will be a reality.
“We had gotten $250,000 from Taiwan which really helped us to start. But with the Inspiration Telethon on board and having raised a million dollars, that really helped us to reach this far,” stated Kim Simplis Barrow to the media. “This year we are hoping to raise half a million dollars and we are hoping that that will go towards some of the equipment. It’s not all the money that we need. We need more money, so if we can raise a million dollars again, that would be good because the project will go on in terms of sustainability and keeping it going and so forth.”
The Inspiration Telethon is being sponsored by Belize Telemedia Limited, NICH, SMART, McNab Designs, Love FM, Love TV, Channel 5, Government Press Office. It is supported by Demor’s Décor, PKF Belize, Channel 7, Wave Radio, Wave TV, Plus TV, CTV-3, Reef TV, Krem TV, Krem Radio.
For Further Information Contact:
Mackeva Westby, Program Coordinator
Mr. Evan Cowo
Special Envoy for Women and Children
Director, CARE-Belize
628-1091/223-1941
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