KINGSTON – May 5, 2023:  Project STAR, a social and economic development initiative created by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) in partnership with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has been further bolstered with a commitment of $50 million in financial support from Sandals Resorts International and its philanthropic arm – the Sandals Foundation, over the next five years.

Heidi Clarke, executive director of the Sandals Foundation, said that the partnership with Project STAR will allow the organisation to reach more vulnerable communities that are in need of positive social outcomes, support local infrastructures and stakeholders to create an environment that can bring a level of transformational change that will benefit young people, their families and the networks that they trust.

“We anticipate a number of outcomes, including insightful data that will be retrieved from the monitoring and evaluation of the interventions being implemented. It is through assessment of lessons learnt that we can modify our approaches for success. On midterm outcomes, we look forward to all community stakeholders, particularly young people, being the driving force behind their personal and physical spaces' strengthened social cohesion and resilience,” Mrs. Clarke stated.

Mrs. Clarke said that the ultimate hope of Project STAR is for a continued collaborative approach to social interventions being implemented across the island, resulting in the empowerment of young people through their positive shift in mindset, leadership in advocacy and a resilient pursuit of their dreams, which in essence will benefit the wider community and nation.

Saffrey Brown, project director, in expressing appreciation to Sandals Foundation said that the project is looking forward to working with the organisation.

“This commitment from Sandals Foundation signals a tremendous vote of confidence for the work of STAR. We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the Sandals team and, indeed, with our other corporate partners that have, so far, donated, and look forward to what we will accomplish together in this effort," she said.

Imega Breese McNab, executive director of the PSOJ in commending those who have donated to Project STAR said that the private sector must be a force for social transformation playing its role by applying creativity and innovation in addressing issues affecting society.

“Jamaica's social issues require a unified effort by the private sector, civil society, and the government. Project STAR is about the socio-economic upliftment of our people in some of our most neglected communities and therefore it requires the business community to support through funding, training, mentorship and job creation,” she stated.

She predicted that the business community's participation in supporting Project STAR, a holistic transformation programme, will ultimately positively impact crime and violence.

Among the donors that have committed support to Project STAR are Jamaica Money Market Brokers, Scotiabank, Carreras, Musson Foundation, CB Facey Foundation (PanJam), National Commercial Bank, Sagicor Foundation, Sagicor Financial Group, Digicel Foundation, GraceKennedy, Supreme Ventures, Barnett., Spanish-Jamaican Foundation, Restaurants Associates (RAL), Rainforest Caribbean, Barita, Richard and Diana Stewart Foundation and American Friends of Jamaica.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, April 24, 2023—With an increased need for investment to strengthen the Caribbean's food security, the Sandals Foundation galvanized the support of hundreds of its ambassadors and Sandals and Beaches Resorts guests across eight islands to celebrate Earth Day by planting over 900 food-bearing trees in a single day. The large-scale tree planting event formed part of the organisation's 'Trees for Life' campaign and contributed to the charitable arm's year-long mission of regional food security, which aims to keep local produce in schools and communities.

Heidi Clarke, Executive Director of the Sandals Foundation, weighed in on the importance of the Earth Day campaign.

“Sustainably increasing food and agricultural production is critical to ensuring the presence of fresh local foods for our Caribbean families for years to come. The Trees for Life campaign represents our continued pledge to environmental protection as a company, while empowering Caribbean communities with the tools and natural resources to meet their nutritional needs.”

In the northern Caribbean archipelago of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, Sandals Foundation ambassadors along with guests planted 50 fruit trees at the Stuart Manor Primary and Forest Primary Schools in Exuma and 50 yellow alders—ornamental trees—at Enid Capron Primary, Ianthe Pratt Primary, Thelma Lightbourne Primary, Oseta Jolly Primary, Clement Howell High, and Maranatha Academy in Providenciales. Through the Foundation’s continued engagement of the students in lessons surrounding agriculture and composting, the islands will continue its rich tradition of promoting environmental education among its young people, thereby preparing the next generation of environment stewards and food producers. 

In Jamaica, team members and guests from Sandals and Beaches Resorts rolled up their sleeves and flocked to nearby schools and communities to plant over 500 fruit, ornamental, and forest trees. At the Salem Primary School, a group from Sandals South Coast planted 50 fruit trees, including east Indian mango, St. Julian mango, assorted citrus, and avocado. In the west, teams from Sandals and Beaches Resorts in Negril planted 80 fruit and ornamental trees on the grounds of Cove Primary, Kendal Primary, and Kendal Basic Schools. Meanwhile Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Royal Caribbean volunteers and guests visited Springfield and planted 75 fruit and forest trees, including jackfruit, breadfruit, ackee, otaheite apple, sweet tamarind, Blue Mahoe, Cedar West Indies, and Jamaican Mahogany. 

And though not yet opened for bookings, team members from Sandals Dunn's River, the newest resort to join the all-inclusive Sandals Resorts line, also took time to plant 10 ornamental trees at Steer Town Primary in Ocho Rios. This effort, in collaboration with additional team members and guests from Sandals Ochi Beach Resort, Sandals Royal Plantation, and Beaches, Ocho Rios planted 300 forest trees at the Bogue Forest Reserve. This builds on the resorts last year's community conservation efforts, which saw nearly 200 food-bearing trees planted in Jacobs Ladder's Mustard Seed Communities, and adds to the philanthropic arm's ongoing conservation and reforestation efforts across the island.

In Antigua, a number of trees were planted at schools in the communities of Jennings Village, All Saints Road, Saint John’s, and Bendals Village, bolstering the twin island’s foundation to strengthen food security for its citizens. While in Saint Lucia, 100 citrus and mango trees were planted in the Dennery (Errand River) community and several flowers and fruit seedlings were nestled into the grounds of the Grand Anse Calliste community in Grenada. 

In Barbados, the Foundation mobilized Sandals Barbados and Sandals Royal Barbados team members and guests, along with local partner Thirteen Acre Farms, to plant a total of 60 food trees. This initiative builds on the philanthropic arm's collaboration with Thirteen Acre Farms, which concluded a four-week Ministry of Agriculture-endorsed initiative, 'Farm Like A Bajan'. Through this programme, 125 students from St Catherine's Primary, St Martin's Primary, Hilda Skeene Primary, St. Philip Primary, and Baileys Primary Schools were equipped with tools and skills to improve their knowledge of agriculture and nutrition, learning practical skills, and building healthy habits. 

Sandals Royal Curacao guests, volunteers, and students from Santa Marguerite's School planted trees in Curacao as part of the Sandals Foundation's Trees for Life campaign. Following the school visit, the group travelled to Zoutpanned (Salt/Pan) Lake in Boka Sami, where they learned about the importance of mangroves and their overall contribution to ecosystems, coastal resilience, and food security from Mr. Ryan De Jongh, mangrove reforesting expert, and planted mangrove seedlings.

Now, with more than 900 steps forward across Jamaica, Antigua, Curacao, Barbados, Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, Saint Lucia and Grenada, the ‘Trees for Life’ campaign builds on the tree planting milestones of years past. In 2021, the Sandals Foundation ambitiously pledged to plant 10,000 trees throughout the Caribbean, not only quickly achieving that goal, but expanding on it by an additional 10,000 trees in 2022. With over 16,000 of 20,000 trees planted, the trajectory towards meeting its second pledge continued through Earth Day’s ‘Trees for Life’ campaign. 

With a mixture of fruit, forest, and ornamental seedlings purchased from local forestry departments and nurseries, the planted seedlings are expected to blossom in a span of two years, providing food resources for surrounding students and families.

“Sandals Foundation and our parent company, Sandals Resorts International is using the power of tourism to plan for a secure future and we are committed to providing the skills and tools needed to create resilient food supply systems and food forests in local schools and communities to ensure access to sustainable and nutritious meals,” said Rochelle Forbes-Reid Public Relations Manager for Sandals Resorts in the Montego Bay Region and Sandals Foundation ambassador.

Persons wishing to support the tree planting efforts can visit the Sandals Foundation website at www.sandalsfoundation.org and donate to the ‘Trees for Life’. One hundred percent of all funds donated will be directed towards purchasing seedlings and maintaining the plant sites to ensure tree survival.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, March 28, 2023 – The stakes are high as the Sandals Foundation returns with the 3^rd staging of the Sandals Golf and Jerk Festival – an exciting sports and food event bringing together over 100 of the island’s best golfers with the scintillating flavours of local jerk chefs competing for Sandals and Beaches Resorts stays and an extraordinary two Hole-In-One bonus prizes of $ 2million cash and a 2023 Kia Sportage.

Set for the Sandals Upton Estate Golf and Country Club in St. Ann on Saturday, May 6, 2023, the event, which is a fundraiser for the philanthropic arm, will support the Port Maria Hospital and the continued development of the Care for Kids Junior Golf programme.

“This festival reinforces our mandate to not only create opportunities for our young people to thrive through sports but it also connects them to a larger responsibility to give back to those in need,” says Heidi Clarke, Executive Director at the Sandals Foundation.

“With proceeds this year going towards the purchase of security systems for the Port Maria Hospital, we are making a solid investment in ensuring our medical professionals, staff and patients are in a safe and secure environment.”

The jerk competition will see 12 teams of two compete for a grand prize of $50,000 while the golf tournament will take on a 4-person scramble with at least one junior player independently chosen or selected from the foundation’s Care for Kids Junior Golf Programme.

“We are proud of our junior golfers who are learning great discipline through the sport and opening avenues to represent Jamaica on the international arena. We want to provide them and other young golfers a place at the table to showcase their skills and compete with the best of the best,” said Clarke. 

Already its organizers have accomplished an extraordinary feat pulling in two Hole-In-One prizes with United States based golf and utilities company, Tropicars offering over $4 million cash with a 50/50 split towards the winner and the charities. The second Hole-In-One comes from ATL Automotive with the stunning 2023 Kia Sportage up for the take.

A host of prestigious local partners has also joined the bill including Best Dressed Chicken, CPJ, Rainforest, Starbucks, Wisynco, and AC Hotels.

Registration for Golf Teams is US$500 with a 10% early bird discount up to April 16. Interested Jerk chefs can register at $10,000 per team. For more information contact Johnny Newnham jnewnham@grp.sandals.com or Natasha Burnett natasha.burnett@sri.sandals.com.

ST. GEORGES, GRENADA (March 22, 2023) - The CHTA Education Foundation (Education Foundation) is excited to partner with the Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association (GHTA) to bring the highly successful ‘Caribbean Supercharged Service’ program to Grenada in July 2023.

At Wednesdays launch, attended by the Hon. Lennox Andrews, Minister of Tourism, Kendra Hopkin, President, GHTA, and Deleon Forrester, Public Relations Manager, Sandals Foundation, Karolin Troubetzkoy, Chair of the CHTA Education Foundation remarked “I am pleased with the calibre of workshops being offered to anyone who works in tourism and hospitality in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. There is something for everyone, however established or new you are.” She continued “the Education Foundation can guarantee you energetic, practical and relevant content delivered in an inclusive manner that will allow each participant to immediately return to work and sparkle.”
The CHTA Education Foundation is most grateful to Sandals Foundation partnering with the Education Foundation again to sponsor part of the Grenada training. Heidi Clarke, Executive Director, was particularly impressed by the GHTA’s promise of reaching beyond their membership and inviting everyone across the Tri-Island Nation to register and be part of this timely, regional experience.

The GHTA Tourism Enhancement Fund has joined this endeavor with the aim of making the training accessible to as many people as possible. The Tourism Enhancement Fund is also offering 24 transportation and accommodation scholarships to people from Carriacou and Petite Martinique, giving a tremendous opportunity for tourism and hospitality workers from the sister islands.

Arlene Friday, CEO, GHTA and Suzanne Shillingford-Brooks, Trainer, were both enthusiastic about the various workshops targeting first-contact job roles such as Tour Reps, Front Desk agents, VIP Services, Concierge & Information Point teams. Additionally, the men and women who keep us safe are not forgotten, ranging from Police, Security Company personnel, Gardeners, Pool & Beach attendants and Bell folks. Grenada’s growing culinary niche is being supported with service, food knowledge and food safety rooted in HACCP principles workshops on offer.

Naturally the Education Foundation’s successful Supercharged Service training is for anyone outside the accommodation sector. It is ideal for tour guides, drinks and snacks under a mango tree, chocolate & spice, marine activities, artisans, soap & candle makers … anyone who helps to make visitor’s vacation.

Arlene Friday concluded “The GHTA is energized and focused, and we know that our people are our magic. It is our pleasure as an organization to bring the Education Foundation training that is service-centric rooted in standards, efficiencies, and safety, to Grenada. I encourage everyone to register before 5 April and secure your seat. I know Louise & Suzanne, the Education Foundation trainers, will light you up!”

Registration closes noon on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Contact the Grenada Hotel & Tourism Association for details. To learn more about the Education Foundation, visit chtaef.com.