CIBC Caribbean has officially relaunched one of its signature community outreach programmes — CIBC Caribbean Unsung Heroes — looking to unearth new home-grown heroes quietly making a difference in their communities.

Building on the strong legacy of the decade-long Unsung Heroes programme, which ran from 2003 to 2013, and which highlighted and rewarded scores of Caribbean men and women working quietly in their communities and making a difference in the lives of many, the Caribbean bank has rebooted the campaign to find those hidden heroes across its 10-member regional footprint.

Mark St Hill, CIBC Caribbean’s chief executive officer and chair of the ComTrust Foundation, the bank’s charitable arm behind the initiative, said he was “very excited as chair of our ComTrust Foundation to offer this unique opportunity for people to identify and celebrate the immense goodness and kind acts that take place every day in our communities”.

“Today we kick off a renewed campaign to find those hidden heroes across our communities and to shine the spotlight on the life-changing work they are doing,” Chief Country Management Officer Donna Wellington said as she addressed a regional press conference to launch the programme.

The bank has made a modification to the original programme. While the original campaign focused mainly on people from the region who worked over a number of years to better their communities, the 2025 version of CIBC Caribbean Unsung Heroes campaign is open to all persons aged 10 and over who have been making a difference in their communities and who have not been highlighted or rewarded in any significant way.

The new campaign will offer two categories under which persons can be nominated — the original category of “outstanding work in the community” and a new category covering “an act of heroism/bravery/extraordinary act of kindness” within the 12 months preceding the start of the year’s campaign.

Winners will be selected from among those nominated at the local level and will be announced in August. The winners from each country will then be eligible for the regional awards, the winners of which will be announced in September.

In October the top three regional winners — the regional CIBC Caribbean Unsung Hero and two runners-up — and a guest each will be brought to Barbados for the presentation of prizes at a special awards dinner.

Special prizes will also be offered to the persons nominating the winning heroes.