ECGC strengthens corporate social responsibility

With the establishment of the Eastern Caribbean Group of Companies (ECGC) Foundation in May 2015, the company has strengthened their corporate social responsibility.

The ECGC Foundation is the brainchild of chief executive officer (CEO) Osmond Davy and was formed with the aim of assisting persons in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) with education and health issues.

Secretary to the Board of Directors of the ECGC Foundation and Human Resource manager at the ECGC Phyllis James said the funds funnelled into the Foundation come directly from the ECGC.

“We have helped in the medical area, quite a number of persons with varying medical issues like dialysis and cancer, both adults and children,” explained James.

She said that persons who need help may write to the Foundation and the board of directors will look at the request and determine if the cause is one that would be taken on.

The Foundation’s board members are chairperson Osmond Davy, chief operations officer at ECGC Elvis DeRiggs, lawyer Douglas Williams, Dr Wayne Murray, head of the University of the West Indies Open Campus Deborah Dalrymple and Dixton Findlay of the Ministry of Education.

So far, the foundation has assisted a combined 16 students with bursaries to attend the Division of Technical and Vocational Education and the UWI Open Campus.

“We will continue what we are doing, as we are really set up to assist in education and health. The idea was that of the CEO and his vision for us to create a sustainable legacy in SVG and eventually in the OECS,” explained James.

Commenting, CEO Davy said that about two years ago, he looked at what social contribution the company was making.

“…One of the things that I contemplated was, if you were 30 years old today, you would not have known the contribution or significance of the contribution that ECGC would have made in terms of sporting activities, and other social activities.

“I thought that we needed something sustainable, that can be carried on; so it was to establish an ECGC Foundation with the main goal to assist in health and education,” explained Davy.

“So far, we have offered bursaries and scholarships to students at tertiary level and in terms of health, we have given a lot of money, almost every month for persons to obtain treatment overseas,” noted the CEO.

Davy said that apart from the Foundation, ECGC spends a lot of time advising bakers on how to improve their baking, so they can get better yields and better tasting bread.

The ECGC has employed the services of consultant professional baker Ali Medjahead of the Sweetie Pie Bakery on Mustique and according to Davy, that has been rewarding, not only to the ECGC, but bakers in the region.

The ECGC also has a qualified vet on their payroll and that person does farm visits in SVG and the OECS to advise farmers on husbandry best practices and things of that nature.

“… And that is what has made ECGC as it is. We provide a lot of services to go with our products,” said Davy.