Tru-Juice 5K/Walk impacting life in St Catherine
After more than a three-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the highly anticipated Tru-Juice 5K/Walk event is scheduled to return to the parish of St Catherine next month.
The event, which was last held in 2019, is scheduled to be held on June 4 at the Tru-Juice Orchards, Bog Walk, starting at 7:00 am.
The event, which is in its eight staging, raised $1.2 million in 2019, which went directly to the Linstead Hospital in the parish. However, the organisers of the event said they are aiming to raise $3 million from an expected increase of participation to 5,000.
Peter McConnell, managing director of Trade Winds Citrus Limited, said his company is delighted to be associated with the event.
“We are very happy to be back because…COVID locked us down for three years, but we are back up and running and we are hoping for a great turnout,” he said.
“The last we had 3,000 people, but we are hoping to get out 5,000, and if we are able to get them out, then we should be able to donate a good amount of money to the Linstead Hospital because the last time it was $1.2 million and we are hoping to donate a lot more than that,” he said.
McConnell said his company’s activation in the community arises from a sense of “corporate responsibility” and social obligation.
“Trade Winds Citrus Company is one of the few large companies in the Bog Walk-Linstead area, and so we focus our corporate responsibility efforts in the community with the Linstead Hospital, with the Dinthill Technical High School to build up the community that we live in,” he said.
Camile Wallen-Panton, chief executive officer of the Linstead Hospital, is appealing to persons to come out and support the event because the facility is in need of a number of vital equipment and supplies to enhance its day-to-day operations.
“I am always elated for the Tru-Juice Walk/Run because I know the Linstead Hospital usually gets great benefits from the event,” she said. “This money will go towards purchasing some equipment that the hospital needs because there are many needs,” she said.
Olympic 100m hurdles bronze medallist Megan Tapper is the patron of the event.
— Robert Bailey
