Just two days before the start of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Association (BAAA) Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) Trials, one local corporate entity has come forward with a major last-minute donation to help ease the cost of hosting the event.
Island Luck, through its IL Care Foundation, donated $50,000 to the BAAA to help with the annual meet, set for March 15-16, at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.
Island Luck’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Dirk Simmons presented the check to BAAA president and CARIFTA Local Organizing Committee (LOC) CEO Rosamunde Carey yesterday, at a special presentation ceremony at the national stadium.
Over 400 athletes from schools all around The Bahamas will compete this weekend with the hope of making the 2018 CARIFTA team and representing the country at home over the Easter Holiday Weekend.
“My saying for this entire CARIFTA process is that hosting an event like this would not be possible without the assistance of local corporate entities,” Carey said about the donation.
“I am pleased to announce that island luck, through it cares committee, has come forward to sponsor this event. And in addition to the sponsorship, Island Luck also becomes a title sponsor for the CARIFTA Trials and a national supplier for the upcoming CARIFTA games.
“Once the Island Luck executives received our visions and plans, they did not hesitate to support the positive activities of our youth, through this event and other national events that they will be sponsoring.
“We are extremely grateful for the donation, because it allowed us to open up the trials and to have much bigger trials. We have around 450 athletes competing, so of course some of them will need financial assistance, and this helps us out a lot in that regard.”
Simmons said that sponsoring CARIFTA and the BAAA CARIFTA Trials fit We Care Foundation’s mandate of bringing awareness and community support to the socioeconomic needs of The Bahamas and its people.
“This is just one of many commitments that we are undertaking at IL Cares,” Simmons said.
“We are happy to partner with the BAAA for both the CARIFTA trials and the CARIFTA Games. For many years, CARIFTA has embodied the inspiration and aspiration necessary to keep our youth engaged in activities that will help them realize their dreams of a better future about themselves and also a better Bahamas.
“We believe that one of the greatest challenges facing the youth today is the loss of inspiration and hope, and the absence of positive role models and positive activities to keep them away from negative activities. As a society, we must confront this challenge to ensure our youth have promising futures.”
Along with the IL Cares foundation, more than 20 local entities have come forward as gold, silver and bronze sponsors for the upcoming CARIFTA Games.
The junior championships will now be known as the 2018 BJ Nottage Flow CARIFTA Games, and will take place in New Providence from March 30 to April 2, at the national stadium.
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