Festival of Lights, powered by The Bermuda Electric Light Company Ltd. (BELCO), and supported by the Department of Parks, raised $21,373.00 for WindReach this holiday season. Thousands of people visited the Botanical Gardens to experience the popular light displays, which ran every Saturday between November 30th and December 21st. During Festival of Lights, volunteers from BELCO and WindReach collected donations and sold food and beverages to raise funds. All proceeds from the event were given to WindReach to assist with its programmes for people with varying physical and intellectual abilities.

BELCO provided thousands of lights, dozens of volunteers and the electricity for the event.

“We are incredibly grateful to the people of Bermuda for their generosity to support such a worthy cause,” stated BELCO President, Dennis Pimentel. “Of course, none of this would have been possible without the committed support of volunteers from BELCO, the Ascendant group of companies and WindReach, who took time during the busy holiday period to ensure that we could create this magical experience for the people of Bermuda.”

“On behalf of WindReach, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to BELCO for organising this event and choosing WindReach as this year’s beneficiary,” stated WindReach Executive Director, Chrissie Kempe. “We realise that, beyond the expense of the lights themselves, there are the months of planning and preparation that goes into a successful event of this size. The money raised will help WindReach to continue to provide therapeutic, educational and recreational opportunities for individuals living with special needs.”

• Press release from Belco