Senior officials of the IL Cares Foundation said this week that supporting events like the High School Basketball Nationals and the upcoming soccer high school nationals is what the foundation is all about, as they pledged the foundations continued support for local sports.
The IL Cares foundation recently made a $20,000 donation to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to assist with both nationals.
Basketball is currently going on in Grand Bahama and sitting in on the event’s opening ceremony on Thursday, IL Cares Chief Marketing Manager Kenny Mackey said he and the foundation’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Dirk Simmons, were pleased to see the donation creating a positive environment for local students.
“It’s very important for us to demonstrate that we are committed to the cause for the long term,” Mackey said.
“We made a commitment to not only the organizers, but also to the kids that we will provide an uplifting environment for them, and we intend to follow through on that promise.
“We take what we do for the community very seriously, and we are happy for any opportunity we can provide for our youth. As far as the basketball nationals, I was moved by the student performances during the opening ceremony. The musical talent, combined with the athleticism on the court showed me that there is a lot of hidden talent here, which means that we can’t stop now.
“We have to keep pushing. We owe it to our youth.”
Along with both high school nationals, IL Cares also donated $50,000 to the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the 2018 CARIFTA Track and Field Championships.
The regional meet takes place in New Providence over the Easter Holiday weekend.