Joel Nagel met with the First Lady of Belize, H.E. Rossana Briceño to present a local childcare center with a donation of BZ $85,700. The Dorothy Menzies Child Center received the check to help after the facilities sustained substantial damage caused by Hurricane Lisa last year.
The children’s home is a 24-hour residential care facility which is temporary accommodation for up to 68 looked after children, who are aged between zero to 18 years old until they are able to either return to their families or be placed in a new forever home through fostering or adoption. The facility is maintained by the Department of Human Services – a unit of the Ministry of Human Development, Families and Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs.
Giving Back to the Local Community
Nagel said, “The Dorothy Menzies Child Care Centre does so much for so many orphaned children and we hope that this money will help them in their amazing work. As part of the local Belizean community, it is so important for us to support those living in the region and these fantastic organizations which give so much.” He continued, “I would like to personally thank each and every person who donated.
The funds were raised via a charity auction hosted by ECI Development and Caye International Bank during Presidents’ Week in Las Vegas. Chairman of ECI and Caye Bank, Joel Nagel has been instrumental in mediating and facilitating donations to local Belizean organizations worth over BZ$ 1.1 million, including Belize Karst Habitat Conservation, ACES Wildlife Rescue, and the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center.
For the Future
Board Member of the Dorothy Menzies Child Care Centre, Mariana Chebat, said, “This generous donation, as well as what has been raised by the gala event that we held this part February, will help us bring to action the construction of a new DMCCC in Belmopan – the relocate the current one in Belize City and to introduce the foster program linked to the centre throughout the country.”
