THE MultiCare Foundation is deeply saddened by the passing of Keith Gardner, Olympian and former Co-ordinator of Sports at the Foundation.

Keith died on Friday, May 25, 2012 in the St Barnabas Hospital, New Jersey, USA, after a brief illness.

Gardner made a sterling contribution to developing the goals of the MultiCare Foundation to implement initiatives to help improve the lives of inner-city children and is credited with setting up the Foundation’s Sports Programme in 1995.

Using his experience and training as an accomplished athlete, Keith designed the sports programme with scientific precision centred on human resource development to provide training for children aged 6-18 years in track and field, football, volleyball, netball, basketball, softball and hockey and to strengthen the physical education process in MultiCare-assisted inner-city schools.

His contribution was not just in the area of sports training, but also in the values and attitudes which the programme seeks to inculcate in the youngsters, through the building of confidence and self-esteem, discipline and respect for self and others. He retained responsibility for co-ordinating all aspects of the programme until his retirement from MultiCare in July 2010.

Under Keith’s guidance the MultiCare Foundation achieved many milestones. These include expansion of the sports programme from the original six schools to incorporate 31 schools in East, West, and Central Kingston and Greater Portmore; development of a ‘Learn As You Play’ after-school Programme with students of MICO College conducting sports training for children from the neighbourhood of Southside; the annual staging of six MultiCare Inter-Schools Sports Competitions in track & field, netball, volleyball, basketball, and boys and girls football; and the annual hosting of the MultiCare Environmental Residential Summer Camp at Mt Airy in the hills of St Andrew.

The 1995 opening of the MultiCare Foundation’s Breezy Castle Centre sports complex with its football field and two multipurpose courts for playing netball, volleyball and basketball, and the further establishment of similar multipurpose courts in 17 of the 31 MultiCare-assisted schools remain significant high points in the Sports Programme’s achievements, and in the development of downtown Kingston.

Keith was committed to the MultiCare goals and will be remembered for his dedication and tireless efforts to assist and impart positive lifestyle lessons to thousands of the Foundation’s young constituents.

The chairman, board of directors and staff of the MultiCare Foundation extend deepest sympathies to Gardner’s wife Fay and to his children Maxine, Christine and Keith Jnr.