A United Way Christmas

The annual United Way Christmas Concert was held on November 27 at Hyatt Regency Trinidad’s Ballroom, Port-of-Spain. The concert began with patrons enjoying wine and cheese.

Akua Leith, conductor of National Steel Symphony Orchestra (NSSO) of Trinidad and Tobago, along with a team of singers such as Kyle Richardson, John Thomas, Wendy Sheppard, Llettesha Sylvester, Danielle Williams and L A Rose, led patrons along a musical Christmas ride.

The NSSO opened the evening’s music with Franz Von Suppe’s Overture: “Poet and Peasant”.

It was followed by Richardson, Sheppard, Rana and Susan Mohip singing “Carol of the Bells, I heard the Bells”.

The singers ran through a range of classic Christmas songs and carols among them, “Oh Holy Night”, “Silent Night”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”. Popular songs such as John Lennon’s “Merry Christmas, War is Over” and Natalie Cole’s “My Grown Up Christmas Wish” were powerfully delivered by Llettesha Sylvester.

The singers paired their voices with the smooth sound of the pan.

United Way’s chairman Ian Benjamin delivered an address saying he hoped the NGO’s work would ignite, “a spirit of volunteerism and philanthropy” throughout the country.

Benjamin said: “Over the course of time we have dispersed more than $20 million in grants and this year we will be disbursing more than $1 million to various NGOs.

“United Way, he added, “was driven by generosity and by volunteers.

“We have more than 3,000 employees who contribute, on a monthly basis, by way of a monthly standing order,” he said.

The employers also match the “generosity” of the employees.

“We also have a very fantastic programme with National Day of Caring which takes place once a year. We are hoping we continue to ignite the spirit of volunteerism and philanthropy throughout the country,” he said.

NGO’s such as Amica House, Casa de Corazon, Credo Sophia House, among others, benefited from the disbursement of the funds.

The NGO’s patron Zalayhar Hassanali, wife of late president Noor Hassanali also attended the event. The show ended promptly at 8 pm with the steel orchestra delivery of the popular “Black Cake and Sorrel”.