Cruise Ship Ryndam brings Christmas Cheer to Liberty Orphanage
Liberty children poses with their gifts aboard the "Ryndam".
Children from Liberty Orphanage received Christmas cheer with a ‘Fun Day’ aboard the Ryndam cruise ship in Belize City on December 16, 2009. According to Ralph Bladen of the ship ‘MS Ryndam’ they have developed a close relationship with the Liberty Orphanage in Ladyville, thanks to the power of the social networking site Facebook.
“I tracked down Lindsey Smith, who is stationed in Belize with her husband, via Facebook. I suggested to Lindsey that the ship would like to offer the 37 children of the Liberty Orphanage the opportunity to visit the Ryndam for a fun day outing and meet Santa Claus,” Bladen explained.
The crew of the ship formed an orphanage committee and organized the Fun Day for December 16. The evening before the “big day,” event manager Kelly Williams and casino host Alexandra Moisei organized a “Celebrity Blackjack” evening in the casino. Guests were asked to sign up for a nominal entrance fee with all proceeds going to the orphanage. The dealing in the casino was carried out by Captain Vincent Smit, Hotel Manager Douglas Hernandez, Cruise Director Matt Allen and Ralph Bladen. A total of $550 was raised that night.
Santa Claus was David Lilley, Rundam’s human resources manager, and ship guests and crew were invited into the show lounge to see the children receive their presents, and Bladen noted that the expression on the children’s face was priceless.
The crew has extended an invitation to the orphanage to visit them whenever the ship is in Belize. Bladen and his wife Karen and son Ben will be visiting the children on December 30. In other cheerful news Fortis, a subsidiary of Belize Electricity Limited(BEL) has donated $4,000 to the Liberty Foundation.
According to Liberty Foundation Director Delfena Mitchell, the funds will be allotted towards paying staff whose payments where outstanding and also to do repairs to their building. The Liberty Orphanage is currently home to 37 children. Source: The Reporter.bz
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