Pupils of a school in Pembroke were full of joy when an organisation dedicated to helping students’ education donated supplies today.

Support Public Schools Bermuda visited West Pembroke Primary School, where bundles of goods were delivered to enhance the learning environment.

The handover marked the beginning of a two-day exercise in which the group will donate $47,450-worth of goods to schools around the island, thanks to the contributions of donors.

Among the other schools to benefit are East End Primary School, Elliot Primary School, Francis Patton Primary School, St George’s Preparatory School and St David’s Primary School.

Included in the packages were fidget chair bands, electric sharpeners, board games, Stem kits, noise-cancelling headphones, geometry sets, laminators and sand timers.

At West Pembroke Primary, Juliana Snelling, the founder of SPS and its main organiser, said: “We are a small group of volunteers and we care about public school education.

“That means we care about schools like West Pembroke Primary.”

Now in its eighth year, she said the group sought help and was able to purchase and receive supplies from generous supporters to kick-start the drive.

“We want to help teachers and students have fun in the classroom,” she told Year 2 and Year 6 students who were ready to receive some of the supplies.

Ms Snelling thanked the Everen Group — a new supporter of the campaign — which purchased $5,000 in supplies to support the cause.

She also thanked the Bank of Butterfield, which donated $10,000-worth of supplies.

Enid Furbert-Jacobs, the West Pembroke Primary principal, thanked the group for its efforts.

She said: “Today we are thankful to the team here, the sponsors that came to fill in the gaps at our school for the needs of our children.

“Also the teachers are very thankful for the gifts they have received that goes straight back to learning within the classroom.”

Shawnette Griffin, the head of retail banking at the Bank of Butterfield, said: “We are really glad to be here this morning to support this initiative.

“Butterfield has been part of this initiative since the beginning and we are very grateful for the opportunity to support SPS once again this year.

“We certainly do understand what the contribution places towards the students as well as the teachers and whatever we can do to assist the students within their learning environment, Butterfield is here to support it.”

Elizabeth Deacon, a communications manager at the Everen Group, said the organisation was happy to take part.

She added: “It allows us to help in public education which is something we are interested in as a group.

“It is particularly lovely to see the children here today and see how excited they are about the resources they are going to have.”

Ms Snelling said that since its formation in 2018, SPS Bermuda has donated more than $675,000 in supplies to public schools across the island.

She said the community action group collaborates with partners to deliver supplies twice annually.

Ms Snelling added: “One would have seen the students and the smiles on their faces and that’s what makes us come back. But we couldn’t come back without our supporters here today.”

She thanked Meritus Trust, which donated $4,000 towards CedarBridge Academy’s Vibe Tribe Club — an adolescent wellness and mental health programme run by students.

Ms Snelling also thanked the Talcott Financial Group, which donated $5,000 towards the reading and literacy programme run by West Pembroke Primary.

Other supporters include the Green family, Deloitte, Butterfield & Vallis, Wakefield Quin, Canterbury Law Limited, The Platinum Group and ABS.

• For more information, visit sps.bm