Her Excellency Lady Sandra Williams, President and Founder of Halo Foundation, last Wednesday presented a $10,000.00 cheque to Team Antigua Island Girls to help fund their 2018 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge campaign.
The donation from Halo Foundation, an umbrella organization dedicated to bringing greater attention to the social welfare needs of the less fortunate in Antigua and Barbuda, moves the team within striking distance of their USD$150,000.00 target for operational costs. The team, after meeting the costs of entering the event, will continue to raise funds for their charity, Cottage of Hope. Cottage of Hope is a group home for girls who have been abused, neglected and orphaned. It is also one of 30 entities – the latest to become so – under the patronage of Lady Williams and her husband, Governor General Sir Rodney Williams.
The presentation of the cheque took place at Government House. The crewmembers of Team Antigua Island Girls, Elvira Bell, Christal Clashing, Samara Emmanuel, Kevina Francis and Junella King, attended.
Lady Williams, who is also the team’s patron, once again commended the women for their bravery in undertaking a campaign to become the first female team from the Caribbean and the first all-Black team to row across the Atlantic Ocean. Team Antigua Island Girls will be the third team from Antigua and Barbuda entering the event.
Her Excellency also commended the rowers for their commitment to Cottage of Hope and pledged, as she has previously done, to assist in raising funds for the campaign and in providing the much-needed help to the girls’ home.
The 2018 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge will begin on December 12. Teams from across the globe will battle the elements and sleep deprivation in boats seven meters long and under two meters wide in the 3,000-mile race from La Gomera, Canary Islands to Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua. The world record to cross the Atlantic is 30 days and the women’s record is 34 days. The longest crossing is 120 days. The Antiguan women have set their sights on the female record.
You may find more on Halo Foundation at https://foundationhalo.org/. Information on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge is available here https://www.taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com/ and http://antiguabarbudaislandgirls.com/ for information on Team Antigua Island Girls.