Patrice Woods

Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
Firstly, my name is Patrice Woods I am a young and free-spirited individual who’s a lover of life and a lover of people. I take pride in my humility and my faith in God.

What’s the nature of the program/endeavour you run and how did it get started?
I’m involved in business and charity work. Firstly, I opened and started my salon about five years ago – ‘PWHAIRSTUDIO’; and recently, during the pandemic and COVID restrictions, along with my mom, I started assisting families who lost their jobs and was left without help with hampers. We did this for the entire year of 2020. In 2021 my friend reached out to me for help in assisting him with a few more families and by me creating a post to generate donations, another friend reached out to me to ask if he can also be a part of the initiative. We started out helping four families in that week and ended up helping eleven. I saw an opportunity to do more so I asked if they’d like to make this an official thing, to which they agreed and I formed ‘Happy Helpers TT’. Since the start of the lock down along with the loss of jobs, we’ve provided over one hundred and fifty (150) hampers to over one hundred and fifty (150) families that reside in Trinidad – even Venezuelan families! We’ve experienced overwhelming support by way of goods and items from regular everyday folks, coupled with our own personal finances. We’re now a group of seven and we’re in talks with Mars Media, another local business, to host a Christmas Charity food drive.

What key things are you trying to accomplish with the program/endeavour?
My hope is to become a registered charity organization and to be of assistance all throughout Trinidad and Tobago by working with companies right here to render aid to our nationals in any way that we can. Be it food supplies, housing repairs, scholarships etc.

Can you give me your best example of the way you’ve seen your program’s work make a difference?
I always thought I needed to be wealthy or have a certain amount of money to do something on a large scale but ‘Happy Helpers TT’ showed me that all you need is a giving heart and a willing mindset to bless the lives of others. In delivering hampers to families who had no other means to basic supplies, has shown me how much my team and I have impacted the lives of many right here in my country. All the thanks and smiles I’ve received while doing it has also shown me it is truly a blessing to be in a position to give! So, I give God thanks daily for the opportunity to be of service.

Is there anything that you wish more people knew about your initiative or the issues you are trying to solve?
Yes. I wish more people were aware of ‘Happy Helpers TT’, not for fame but to gather more assistance with funding that could and would assist in blessings many families throughout this country. Some of the challenges we’ve endured but also worked through was maintaining the supply of goods, but God created a way, sometimes I’d go without buying my own groceries and put that cash towards supplies because I know God will always provide, and some families needed it more; and my team members have the same mindset! Also delivering hampers meant giving up our weekend which we did.

How has your life changed with running this program?
Man, it has truly opened my eyes to how much suffering is happening right here in my country. I know it was tough, but with the pandemic it became 10 times worse for some families and it truly gave me peace and comfort to know that I had a part to play in a little smile or blessings to some families. I wish I could have done more – truly.

What would make the greatest difference in helping your organization get better at what it does? What are your most urgent needs?
Firstly, assistance in becoming registered as a Non-profit Organization and secondly, funding or collaborations with local businesses. And always more Happy Helpers TT members who are willing to touch the lives of others.