SCOTIABANK launched its Bank Bright Future and Soul To Sole Youth Initiative’s Skillz and Drillz Benefit Basketball Camp 2013 with a US$24,000 sponsorship, which was announced at a press conference at the Media Centre of the American International School of Kingston yesterday.

The Soul To Sole Benefit Basketball Camp, which is on a mission to empower Jamaica’s youths through sports and academics, will be held at the Folly Oval in Port Antonio, Portland. The project that runs from mid-October to mid-December will be highlighted by the presence of Wali Jones, former NBA champion of the Philadelphia 76ers (1967), who will act as this year’s Soul To Sole Charity Basketball Camp mentor.

The Soul To Sole Benefit Basketball Camps are meant to raise funds for underprivileged youths, as well as provide mentorship sessions by pro athletes. Also, it seeks to create opportunities for community service volunteering through youth development programmes, to encourage the spread of the dynamics of sports and academics across Jamaica in an effort to create opportunities for talented and gifted children to access scholarships for future advancement.

Joylene Griffiths-Irving, executive director of Scotia Foundation which is the main sponsor of the programme, said that 75 per cent of the sponsorship fund came from “our Bright Future operations in Toronto, because they saw a perfect fit” as the programme is streamlined to provide a bright future for the youths of tomorrow.

“We have been visible in a number of areas such as the two-week cycling camp we concluded last Saturday with the Cycling Federation. We have also been doing that through Kiddies Cricket and West Indies Cricket, tennis and also through football with Valencia Football Club. So adding basketball to the mix is a perfect package for our Bright Future programme,” she said.