MONTEGO BAY, St James

THE Montego Bay Boys’ and Girls’ Club now has a new lease on life, thanks to a partnership between the Sandals Foundation and leading Canadian distributor of hardware and home improvement products, RONA Inc.

Last Thursday, over 130 volunteers from RONA along with the Sandals Foundation carried out a three-hour work session at the club, of which 170 young people are currently members.

During this time, several sections of the facility, including the main auditorium, kitchen, music room, reading room and restrooms received a fresh coat of paint. Groups of volunteers installed new shelving inside the reading room to create additional storage space, while others carried out landscaping and engaged children at the Bright Beams

Pre-school — operating on the club’s premises — in arts and crafts.

“The idea is to rebuild the foundation of a club that has been here from before the 1960s. Through this outreach we want to not only refresh the facility but rejuvenate and re-energise the effort here at this organisation,” said Sydney Henry, projects manager for the Sandals foundation.

“We want to have young people come back to a space where they can be motivated, challenged and given great examples that they can emulate, so that they too can contribute to

their communities.”

The Montego Bay Boys’ and Girls’ Club has been contributing significantly to the development of the youth in and around Montego Bay for more than 70 years. Throughout the years, the club has celebrated several milestones and tremendous achievements in the areas of sport and performance. In recognition of its work, the club was in 1992 given the Key to the City of Montego Bay.

“At RONA we truly believe that by contributing to the development of the youth in Jamaica we are also contributing to a better world,” said, Philippe Element, senior sales director for Rona Canada.

Carl Mathews, chairman of the board for the Montego Bay Boys and Girls’ Club, applauded the Sandals Foundation and RONA for their efforts at the club, during his visit to the project site.

“With contributions from civil society becoming less and less, it was really a joy when RONA and the Sandals Foundation decided to contribute to the upgrading of our property, which needs a lot of work,” Mathews said.

“This is work that we have not seen in quite a while, and we are very grateful to them.”

RONA is one of the largest Canadian distributor and retailer of hardware, home renovation and gardening products. The corporation operates a network of over 800 corporate, franchise and affiliate retail stores with close to 30,000 employees.

The project and partnership with RONA reflect the Sandals Foundation’s ongoing commitment to community development within Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. The Sandals Foundation, which celebrates its fifth anniversary this year, also fosters environmental stewardship through marine preservation, environmental awareness and tree planting initiatives to name a few, and actively supports education by providing scholarships, teacher training and early childhood stimulation initiatives.