Nuttall fund-raising 5K targets $4m
THE second annual staging of the Nutall/WATA 5K Run/Walk seeks to raise over $4 million to start renovation of the Nuttall Memorial Hospital’s general and maternity wards.
The May 10 event, under the theme ‘Run for Health’, with WATA as its main sponsor, was launched at the CEO’s Boardroom at the Nuttall Memorial Hospital yesterday.
Speaking at the launch, the director of development and marketing at Wisynco Francois Chalifour, said he was pleased to announce his company’s commitment to the event.
“It is a pleasure to be here again… last year I intended to run the 5K and I probably have done about 2K and walked the rest of the journey, but my objective this year is to run the whole way.
“I am happy to give our support to a worthy cause, it is not just about a run or a walk, but about health in general and it is very critical for all of us in Jamaica to be aware of a healthy lifestyle and so I am very pleased to announce that Wisynco, through its WATA brand, will be the main sponsor for this wonderful event,” he said.
The Rt Rev Howard Gregory, Lord Bishop of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, said that the churches will indeed support the event.
“Not many of us associated this church with health, but this has been a part of our lives both here and across the world. Two years ago, we had a sing-off in Montego Bay and those singers focused on non-communicable diseases, and we are trying to raise the awareness of the church of the nature of these conditions and what we can do to promote health,” he said.
“We are very much in support of this Run/Walk; it is just not a fund-raising effort, but it has to do with the promotion of a healthy lifestyle and it is my pleasure to announce that the Anglicans of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands are pleased to be associated with this event and will continue to support it,” Bishop Gregory continued.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Nuttall Memorial Hospital Harvey Levers thanked all sponsors for coming on board.
“Last year, the Nuttall/WATA 5K was successful with the participants, including a large cadre of practising Anglicans, professional and amateur athletes, community residents, the Nuttall Hospital employees and members of the medical fraternity, entertainers, former patients of the Hospital and the general public and we look forward to an even more successful event this year as we want to get around 2,000 participants,” he said.
