By Nelson A. King
In view of the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic, Vincentians
in New York will this week
begin celebrating their 41st independence
anniversary celebrations
virtually with a series of events.
The events will be spearheaded
by the Brooklyn-based Council of
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Organizations, U.S.A., Inc. (COSAGO),
the umbrella Vincentian
group in the United States.
COSAGO president, Laverne
McDowald-Thompson, said the
major celebratory events comprise
a virtual Service of Thanksgiving
on Sunday, the first of two
financial forums on Friday, and
the second on Nov. 6.
“This year, due to the situation
as it relates to the coronavirus
pandemic, we have not been able
to host any of our major annual
events, including our 1000 Islands
Get Away to Canada in July, our
Independence Church Service
and our Independence Luncheon
Gala,” McDowald-Thompson told
Caribbean Life Monday night.
“The executive of the organization
has been meeting regularly
via zoom, keeping abreast of the
activities of members’ organization,
which have been doing a
phenomenal job since the onset of
the pandemic, she added.
For example, McDowald-
Thompson said a number of members
originations donated food
and beverages to front line works
in New York City, and Brooklyn in
particular, in the earlier stages of
the pandemic, “when the healthcare
industry was stretched to its
limits.”
Unable to meet in person with
COSAGO members and supporters,
she said the umbrella group,
therefore, “found it fitting to
organize the upcoming events in
an effort to keep our community
engaged during these challenging
times.”
The independence anniversary
Service of Thanksgiving will
be held virtually from 3:00 pm
with The Very Rev. Otis Samuel
Nichols, dean and rector of the
St. George’s Anglican Cathedral,
Kingstown, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, delivering the sermon.
McDowald-Thompson said The
Cathedral Choir will join in the
celebration from the homeland,
Caribbean L 18 ife, October 23-29, 2020
performing live.
Special renditions will also be
offered by the youthful, renowned,
Canada-based Vincentian trio, the
Melisizwe Brothers.
The Service of Thanksgiving
will be streamed live on Facebook
at https://www.facebook.com/
groups/COSAGO/ and https://
www.facebook.com/Vincy-Foreign
Based-198499160187176.
It will also be viewed on
YouTube via Garnes Byron Channel,
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=XmeNabJLtxI.
“Our independence celebrations
are taking place during
challenging times due to the pandemic
– a time when Vincentians
at home and in the Diaspora, like
the rest of the world, are experiencing
the financial crunch,” said
COSAGO vice president Arden C.
Tannis, a former inspector in the
Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Police Force and erstwhile
president of the Brooklyn-based
group, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Ex-Police Association of
New York, Inc.
“With money being the life
blood of our people and essential
to our existence, we at COSAGO
Laverne McDowald-Thompson, president of the Brooklynbased
Council of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Organizations,
U.S.A., Inc. (COSAGO). Photo by Nelson A. King
found it necessary and fitting to
keep our people informed, and
help guide them financially, as we
all try to make the best with what
we earn,” he added.
In this nexus, Tannis said COSAGO
will host the two virtual
forums on finance.
The first, this Friday, at 8:00
pm, is themed, “How to Achieve
Financial Wellness 2021 and
Beyond”. It will be presented by
Stacia Morris, a Connecticutbased
Vincentian Certified Financial
Advisor and author of the
book, Teen Money 101.
This event will be streamed
live on Facebook via Arden Cameron
Tannis at https://www.facebook.
com/ardencameron.tannis
and on YouTube via Advocate
For Financial Wellness at:
https://youtube.com/channel/
UCpDJNhQTP_1TJqySnUK6qXA.
The second presentation,
on Friday, Nov. 6, titled “Managing
Your Finances in Uncertain
Times”, will be presented
by Anthea Perkinson, a certified
financial planner.
It will be streamed on: Facebook@
Advocate For Financial
Wellness and YouTube@Advocate
For Financial Wellness.
Vincentians in NY begin celebrating
independence anniversary virtually
GET THE MEDICAL CARE
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Now is the time for you and your family to get
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Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc
Commissioner
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
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