Sandals kicks off $3.6m football donation in Flanker
MONTEGO BAY, St James – Adam Stewart, CEO for SANDALS Resorts International, on Tuesday presented Flanker youths with 250 footballs as part of a $3.6 million initiative to provide 3,000 footballs to communities across the northern and western sections of the island during the festive season.
In presenting the first batch of balls, Stewart noted that the community and the Sandals hotel chain have had a long-standing relationship spanning more than 25 years.
“My father (Gordon “Butch” Stewart) who is the chairman of Sandals has been committed to Flanker and many other communities like it in Jamaica from the day I was born,” the 25-year-old CEO said.
In October, the elder Stewart donated $1 million towards the expansion of the Flanker Peace and Justice Centre during a tour of the facility with executives of the resort chain.
It was Stewart’s second donation to the facility in just over two years, having made a $250,000 contribution in January 2004, shortly after expansion plans for the centre were announced.
The resort chain has also embarked on a number of other programmes in the often volatile community to help improve the lives of residents.
Among the initiatives are the Sandals Training and Recruitment Tier (START) programme, which sees the HEART Trust/NTA training ad certifying youths from the area. The hotel chain also employs more than 300 persons from the community.
On Tuesday, young Stewart stressed that the resort would continue to “give back” to the community and urged other corporate entities to do the same.
Arguing that sports plays a vital part in achieving unity, Stewart said he was confident that the balls would go a far way in “bringing the people in the community together”.
Member of Parliament for the area Dr Horace Chang, who was present at the handing over ceremony, commended the Sandals chain for the programmes it has undertaken in the community over the years.
President of the Rotary Club of Montego Bay East, Winston McKane later told the Observer that other communities to benefit from the project include Lucea, Negril, Ocho Rios and Oracabessa. The distribution of the balls, he said, is being spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Montego Bay East.
