Inspiration Telethon to raise funds for the Inspiration Center

Special Needs Children....from Spina Bifida, MS, Cerebral Palsy, and many more Birth Defects, our country has many children that will be able to benefit from the Inspiration Center. Check out the video

Telethon raises targeted $1 Million for Inspiration Center

The goodwill shown by the embassies in Belize and the courageous act by an Orange Walk mother to rescue her children from a burning building are only two of the recent moments that show the good nature of Belizeans. Across the country, hundreds of people gave from their hearts and made the Inspiration Telethon on Saturday, a major success. Before the event, the one million dollar target, set by the Special Envoy for Women and Children, Kim Simplis Barrow, seemed like a stretch, but the was not only met, it was surpassed. The largest donations came from the Social Security Board, which pledged one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to be paid over three years, Belize Telemedia Limited committed to sixty thousand dollars, while Fyffes and Belize’s Sugar Industries Limited each donated fifty thousand dollars. But the biggest surprise came at the end of the day, when Minister of Human Development, Anthony “Boots” Martinez announced a pledge of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars that would be transferred from the OPEC Fund for International Development through the Southside Alleviation Project.

Anthony “Boots” Martinez, Minister of Human Development

“It’s a project that is dear to my heart and as representative of the Southside and also the Minister of Human Development and Poverty Alleviation, we have chartered through a program through OPEC to find a way to donate to this cause two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which is quarter million dollars.”

Rene Villanueva

“Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!”

Anthony “Boots” Martinez

“That is going to be done next month. Of course, we are sending up all the approvals to OPEC; ninety percent of the approvals come from Belize, it’s just a matter of us doing and making sure we follow the protocol, send up the project and the procurement guidelines and we could say that is for sure, that is a done deal so that push it over the million dollars.”

Rene Villanueva

“That push it over the million dollars!”

Kim Simplis Barrow, Special Envoy For Women and Children

“So that brings us to one million, ninety-three thousand, three hundred and sixty-eight dollars and sixty-six cents. I certainly take this opportunity to thank everyone who donated to this great cause. I was deeply, deeply moved by especially the children who came, who broke their piggy banks, who gave their monies from the tooth fairy to the Inspiration Center. I think those are the moments that will forever be etched in my mind and my heart and the Belizeans for a very long time to come. Today is a proud, proud day to be a Belizean. I am so overwhelmed with emotion and I can’t thank you all enough for supporting these children, for really walking this walk with these children. They need us and they us need us today. So this is one step towards the realization of this inspiration center.”

Guest phone operators who volunteered on Saturday included Prime Minister Dean Barrow, Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega as well as Ministers Anthony “Boots” Martinez, Patrick Faber and Herman Longsworth. If you missed the telethon and still want to donate, you can do so at specialenvoy.bz or send cheques, made out to NCFC Disability Center, to the Special Envoy office at the Whitfield Tower on Coney Drive.

Channel 5