Top Row(left to right): The late Clive Pantin and our patroness Mrs. Hassanali 2006 ; Intervention in Haiti after the earthquake in 2010; Community Impact in Fifth Company 2018
Bottom Row(left to right): Day of Caring at Republic Grounds 2009 ; National Day of Caring at Belmont Boys Primary 2018; No Greater Time Concert with TogetherWI in 2017
On the dawn of a new millennium, 7th December 1999, United Way Trinidad and Tobago (UWTT) was founded by four visionaries: Ronnie Chan, Larry Howai, Nicholas Innis and Sandra Chin Yuen Kee with the patronage of Mrs Zalayhar Hassanali. They were joined soon after by Conrad Aleong, Clive Pantin, Marie Advani and Mark Ramkerrysingh. These leaders saw the need for a coming together of hearts and minds around creating a better Trinidad and Tobago.
1999-2009 The first 10 Years
Established as a Non Government Organisation (NGO), our first 10 years focused on building relationships with both donor partners and our partner NGOs based on trust and mutual respect. UWTT brought the innovation of Workplace Giving, a model which allows employers to encourage employee engagement and create a culture of giving through a simple payroll deduction on a monthly basis to UWTT. In turn, employees also challenge their employers to match their generosity.
Through that mechanism personified by our motto LIVE UNITED, UWTT amplifies the possibilities of the smallest contribution by pooling and granting on to our NGO partners who provide services for the vulnerable in our society
Our priority areas for funding include at risk children, education and families in crisis. A core mandate for the funds entrusted to us is to provide our individual and company donors transparency, accountability and good stewardship which means ensuring that the recipients of the funds are also capable and trustworthy.
For the first decade, our key Implementing Partners included Children’s Homes, SERVOL, FEEL, ALTA, Dyslexia Association, Moms for Literacy to name a few. Over 45% of our grants still go to Children’s Homes. In 2008, we launched the first UWTTDay of Caring event for the children who lived in these Homes, which in turn provided volunteer opportunities for employees to interface directly with those whose lives their donations touched.
2010 to 2019- A move towards Impact
In 2013, the National Day of Caring or NDOC as it is affectionately called was launched. NDOC challenges our company partners with their employees to come together in an event of a scale that people can feel – to do more throughout our twin-island republic, to bring hope and inspiration to more communities who were in need.
It is one of the few events of its kind in the Caribbean, being a champion for social impact and over 20,000 volunteers to date have executed hundreds of projects ranging from beach clean ups, renovations of Children Homes and NGO facilities, reforestation and even full on school renovations.
Also in 2013, we began research on what it would take for us to have greater impact in a changing landscape of Giving. We launched our first impact project in Fifth Company Moruga in 2015 encouraging a model of collective working to transform the lives of a whole community.
Lessons learnt from both NDOC and Community Impact have led us to develop a new programme to build a bridge into the next decade of our evolution.
Looking forward to the next 20 Years
In looking forward to the next 20 years, we know that UWTT needs to continue to evolve in order to truly champion the cause of ‘no one left behind’ as our country transitions to a developed country status.
The current Board comprising – Ian Benjamin, Vincent Pereira, Stephen Bagnarol, Ravi Bharati, Sandra Chin Yuen Kee, Karen Darbasie, Mitchell De Silva, Noble Khan, Don La Foucade, Wayne Moze, Phillip Mshelbila, Mark Ramkerrysingh, Gervase Warner, Ian Welch, Colin Wharfe and Lisa Wickham – are passionately committed to our purpose to transform lives in the common cause of caring.
As much as before, our future will require us to work collectively with others, to make more of our limited resources, to update our thinking and to be more responsive to the needs as they present themselves.
Lastly and most importantly we thank everyone who has made us who we are today – the incredible donors and their employees who make a growing cadre of volunteers- who are philanthropically attuned and incredibly generous, and last but not least, the amazing NGOs all throughout the country who do their incredible hard work and whom we support.
NDOC 2019 at Nelson Street Boys’ RC (Left to right):
(Back row)- Simon Aqui (Donations), Stephen Bagnarol (Director), Don La Foucade (Director), Hillian Morean, (Deputy Mayor, Port of Spain) Douglas Camacho (Donations), Dr. Phillip Mshelbila (Director), Gervase Warner (Director).
(Front row)- Melanie Richards (Donations), Sandra Chin Yuen Kee (Director), Elizabeth de Gannes (NGO & Allocations), Indira Omah-Maharaj (NGO & Allocations), Karen Darbasie (Director), Mrs. Zalayhar Hassanli (Patroness), Vincent Pereira (Director and Vice Chairman UWTT), Frances Heath (Principal), Dr. Jennifer Sancho (CEO UWTT).