PORT HAWKESBURY: Several businesses in the area were recently visited by a group of young women using the gift of music to spread the word about helping the less fortunate.
The volunteers were representing Children’s Joy Foundation (CJF) Canada, and on Wednesday, January 11, the four young ladies parked their car in the Port Hawkesbury Business Park and booted it to area business. Like most people representing a charity, they had information about their group along.
Unlike most, they also had a guitar.
“When I first heard them, I thought someone turned the radio on really loud,” said Nicole Fawcett, who serves as the advertising manager at The Reporter.
Fawcett was visiting Gateway Hyundai when the girls arrived at the local dealership. She was talking with salesman Kyle Cyr at the time, along with one of Cyr’s customers.
“We came out of Kyle’s office, and here were these lovely young ladies playing upbeat music,” she said. “These were some very talented young women. It was a complete surprise, but a pleasant one.”
Cyr also recalls the day fondly. He too thought someone had cranked the radio.
“I got up and said ‘what’s this all about?’” he said. “There was a girl with a guitar and three others spreading through the dealership. There were four of them, and they came in with great harmony. They were singing Beatles music.
“You definitely noticed them, and it lightened the atmosphere for sure. They were nice, pleasant, and just trying to spread their message.”
Children’s Joy Foundation is a duly registered charity, and it was founded in early 2013 by Filipino immigrants. Moved by the plight of millions of Filipino children, the organization came together to raise funds for feasible projects.
CJF Canada is a partner to Children’s Joy Foundation, Inc., an organization in the Philippines that engages in various forms of charitable support for child protection, welfare, and development for marginal and poor Filipino children. Children’s Joy Foundation, Inc. has constructed many day-care centers for toddlers in typhoon hit communities.
“We have volunteers in different provinces,” said Priscilla Abayon, one of the directors of Children’s Joy Foundation (CJF) Canada.
“We are building an orphanage and here in British Columbia we are feeding poor school children,” she said. “We give them a free breakfast and lunch, and we’ll be expanding in the near future.”
Abayon mentioned that anyone who missed the musical visitors can still donate to her group. Donations can be made through the CJF Web site at: cjfcanada.org. Tax receipts are issued for all donations.