Widow continues family tradition of giving to communities
For years, Ann Marie and her husband Elricka Richards have been impacting May Pen and surrounding communities such as Denbigh and Four Paths through their organisations, Voice of Victory Ministries and Stars of Hope Outreach Programme, located at 601/2 Manchester Avenue.
Through mentorship and welfare assistance, as well as taking many into their homes, the Richards saw many whose stories might have been tragic, completely turned around.
This Christmas will be a sad one for Ann Marie, who has pledged to carry on her husband’s legacy of love and sharing as he transitioned on March 9 of this year.
Pushing her pain aside, the philanthropist is determined to ensure their annual Christmas outreach is a success.
“So at this time of year, we know that there are many families, and you would be surprised to know how many won’t be able to cook a nice meal or have something wonderful like everybody else is having,” she shared with the Freedom Come Rain newspaper. She said she and her husband would normally go out of their way “above and beyond” to ensure they attended to those in need.
Ann Marie instills this value in the young people around her as well as her own children, hoping that the legacy can continue even after she is gone.
The Richards moved from Kingston in 1993, “uprooting” suddenly with their family, to the parish. According to Ann Marie, at the time she recalled, there were so many things that were missing in their lives.
“But when we looked around, we saw others who had more missing than what we were missing, and as we normally do, we do everything together, so we decided that we would ensure that children and families could really get some help in different ways,” she highlighted.
And as Christmas Day approaches, Ann Marie said, unlike others who gave toys at Christmas, they have never done that. Instead, she targets single-family homes and the elderly, ensuring they receive other items.
“For years, we have been giving food packages, personal packages, scholarships, and just about everything that a family needs. Whether a bus fare or lunch money for the week, stuff like that,” she notes.
Her son is now taking up the mantle and has been going out into communities to help people at least once per month, or as often as they are able to do that.
This Christmas, as she prepares gift packages, she pauses to think about her partner of so many years. Describing him as her “priest, her husband, her partner,” she said he might not be here, but she knows he would want them to continue the legacy, and she will take pleasure in doing just that.
“We enjoy doing it as a group, and we enjoy doing it as a family, and I pray that the small gifts that we have and those things that we give from our hearts will shine a light, and they will recognise love, joy, and happiness. The greatest gift that you can give is yourself and loving each other, and that’s what we do from the heart,” she concludes.