Angostura employees donate $1m to food drive

ANGOSTURA employees came up with a novel idea on how they can help families financially impacted by the pandemic. In an unprecedented display of goodwill, a press release on Monday stated, the workers decided to donate some of their vacation days to create a pool of funds that will be used to purchase food items for the most vulnerable who are financially impacted by the novel coronavirus.

Angostura's management, executives and Board of Directors also financially supported the drive. This employee-driven initiative saw 341 Angostura employees giving up a total of 1,074 vacation days, valued at $1,000,000. The workers' trade union was also directly involved in the initiative.

Commenting on why he donated his vacation days, engineering and maintenance supervisor, Victor Francis, said, “I give because to me it’s the best thing that one can do at a time like this.”

Technical assistant, Sean C. Alleyne said, “I truly believe that any act or gesture of kindness and compassion would go a long way.” Industrial Relations Officer, Diane Henderson said, “Gratitude is understanding what you have and finding the freedom to give to others.”

The generosity and selflessness from employees at all levels of the company have been tremendous and some have even given up all of their vacation amounts for the year. This says a lot about the Angostura staff and the values of the company which they all live by, which are, togetherness, tenacity, passion and integrity.

The employees’ initiative entitled, “From Our Angostura Family To Yours” is a gift of their kindness to the country. "We are extremely proud of all our employees for conceptualizing this idea and driving this initiative with a huge goal in mind. Staff members will be distributing food hampers to families," the release said.

On March 20, Angostura announced that it was embarking on a donation drive to produce hand sanitiser for first responders, communities and businesses with frontline staff.

Since then, the company has donated 70,000 bottles of hand sanitiser to front liners including police officers, prison officers, healthcare and social development workers and to our fence-line communities in Laventille/Morvant. Angostura will continue to assist those in need during this unprecedented time of uncertainty.