ICWI to grant wishes this Christmas

THE INSURANCE Company of the West Indies (ICWI) is intent on helping to ignite the warm and fuzzy feeling of the Yuletide season for children of its customers with its ‘Family Christmas Giveaway’. Through this special initiative, the company will grant the wishes of roughly 200 children, ages five through 15 years, with gifts ranging from digital devices to toys.

ICWI’s President Paul Lalor is confident that the children who receive their Christmas wishes will have a smile to share this Christmas, and is happy to champion the cause across the island. “It has been painful looking at the impact the pandemic has been having on families since COVID. The need for assistance has been mounting. While we cannot meet all these needs, this initiative will at least bring back the Christmas spirit we all look forward to each year,” says Lalor.

Considering the almost two years of physical closure of schools, varying protocols implemented to curtail the spread of COVID-19 and months of online learning, the company is taking it back to the way Jamaicans used to communicate – letter writing. Policyholders will be invited to have their children write a letter documenting their Christmas wish. These letters should be dropped off in a box provided at any one of the ICWI’s 16 locations across the island.

Lalor also notes, “Letter writing is so crucial these days, especially as our children have been doing e-learning for so long. Letter formation and handwriting have become a thing of the past.”

ICWI hopes to not only bring Christmas cheer to children but to ease the burden on parents who may find it difficult to gift their children this year, because of the effects of the pandemic.

In addition to granting wishes, children will also get an opportunity to receive smaller tokens through a digital app that the company will launch for the season.

Vice-president of Marketing and Human Resources, Samantha Samuda, explains that ICWI is big on innovation and upholds strong family values. “The digital platform will give parents the opportunity to join their children on the platform and help them to have fun together, using their creativity. ICWI is built on family. At the end of the day, we just want to ensure that we underscore the importance of spending quality time with loved ones, especially during Christmas,” asserts Samuda.