The Maria Holder Memorial Trust
Improving Quality of Life for all Barbadians
Many enlightened people in the world today would identify family and love as the two most important elements in their life. That is certainly the case with the Holder and Brewster family, whose love for Barbados and each other inspired the establishment of The Maria Holder Memorial Trust.
After being captivated by Barbados during her very first visit, Swiss-born Maria Holder adopted the island as her home from 1978. Working diligently behind the scenes, Maria was a silent philanthropist with a burning ambition to help Barbados further develop as a nation. In keeping with he r personal mantra of ‘without education you have nothing’, she was particularly keen to give young Barbadians a greater opportunity to reach their full potential.
After Maria’s sudden and untimely death in 2004, her son Christopher Holder and son-in-Law Chesterfied Brewster co-founded The Maria Holder Memorial Trust to ensure that the legacy of his Maria’s vision would continue to bear fruit. Chesterfield Brewster, a Barbadian was married to Christopher’s late sister Marina. With Christopher and Chesterfield together at the helm, both fully committed and heavily involved at a very personal level, the Trust has evolved into the family’s mission in life. As such, unlike many charities, The Maria Holder Memorial Trust is not simply a source of financial support. It is a locally based, proactive, change agent that seeks to deliver social improvements where they are most needed.
Today, The Maria Holder Memorial Trust is run by a six-member board with day-to-day management by a Chief Project Manager, a Project Manager, a Project Assistant, an Administrative Secretary and a Consultant/Advisor. Even with that strong team behind them, The Board of Trustees take great delight in personally involving themselves in the process of evaluating and selecting potential projects to be undertaken and supported. This hands-on approach has often proven to be an advantage for the more unconventional initiatives, particularly in the culture and arts arena, which can be notoriously difficult for attracting mainstream funding. Fortunately for these Charities, Christopher Holder is keen to encourage the natural creativity embedded within our young people, so he is willing to take a calculated risk when appropriate. In recognition of his outstanding philanthropic contribution and charitable services to the people of Barbados, Christopher was presented with the Honorary Silver Crown of Merit Award in the 2017 Barbados Independence Honours.
As well as giving back to his homeland through The Maria Holder Memorial Trust, Chesterfield Brewster also subsequently founded The Brewster Trust in April 2010. The initial goal was to promote, develop and improve football in Barbados with the aim of creating opportunities at all levels, especially for the youth. Since then, The Brewster Trust has developed several other diverse programmes. Chesterfield’s initiatives also include the Valley Island Farm where the charity promotes innovative farming techniques for growing food, as well as the Wynterbottm Stables where able and differently abled children can learn how to ride a horse.
Like Maria Holder, both Chesterfield and Christopher believe that developing the youth of Barbados, particularly the vulnerable, is a key step towards further developing the nation as a whole. With poverty alleviation as the overarching common thread in all of its endeavours, The Maria Holder Memorial Trust focuses its philanthropic investments on: Education and Training, Health,
Culture and the Arts, Poverty Alleviation, Conservation and the Environment and Disaster.
Education and Training
- 7 state-of-the-art nursery schools
- Parkinson Memorialt Secondary School – Industrial Arts Workshop
- Wheelock Training College – of 75 early childhood teachers
- Supreme Counselling for Personal Development
Health
- Marina Brewster Centre
- Marina House for women
- Paediatric and Cardiac wards of the QEH
- Heart and Stroke Foundation of B’dos
- Cancer Support
- National Council on Substance Abuse for the Drug Treatment Court
- HIV through LIVE UP
- B’dos Family Planning
Culture and Arts
- Operation Triple Threat (OTT)
- Pinelands Creative Workshop (PCW)
- Barbados Association of Drama Educators
- St. Leonard’s Boys’ Choir
Youth
- Dance4Life
- The Prince’s Trust
- Dancefest
- Special Olympics
- World Paediatric
- Project
- I am A Girl B’dos
- Variety The Children’s Charity
- Youth in Agriculture
- Silver Hill Youth Empowerment Centre
Sport
- Special Olympics
- Skatepark
- 11 Play Parks
- B’dos Tennis Assoc.
- H.O.R.S.E/ Wynterbottm Stables
Poverty Alleviation
- Parkinson Resource Centre
- Silver Hill Centre
- Salvation Army
- Barbados Council for the Disabled
- Barbados Homeless and Vagrants Society