THE charitable organisation Hands of Love received an early Christmas present this year to the tune of $15,000, writes Lindsay Kelly.

The Bermuda End-to-End Charitable Trust gave the Christmas bonus to the organisation, which serves as a weekly lifeline to some of the neediest people on the island.

"We have long admired the work of Hands of Love and its founder Fern Wade, whose organisation has been delivering food and clothing to people in need since 1990," said Anne Mello, chair of the Bermuda End-to-End Charitable Trust.

"Given the current economic downturn, we felt it was important to make a special effort to support those most in need over the coming Christmas season."

The Hands of Love has helped thousands of people in Bermuda by directly offering them food and clothing, raising funds, speaking out on their behalf and helping put them in touch with the services they need. The Catlin End-to-End event is organised by the Bermuda End-to-End Charitable Trust, and is supported by numerous local sponsors and more than 2,500 individual participants.

The annual island-wide event's mission is to be Bermuda's premier annual charitable pledge event, committed to promoting the happiness and well-being of our island community through all-inclusive activities.