NEW PROVIDENCE, BAHAMAS- January 13, 2022- Some 55 children from the Sister Annie Thompson Government Pre-School in Nassau will be soaring to even higher heights this school term as United States airline, American Airlines, through the Sandals Foundation made a sizeable donation of school supplies to the institution recently.

The initiative, forms part of what the airline dubs its “Build a Bag Initiative” and saw over 20 members of its Commercial and Operations team meticulously filling bags with a wide array of school supplies.

To facilitate the presentation, some 55 children along with their teachers, parents and principal stopped by the Sandals Royal Bahamian’s recently refurbished ballroom where they were greeted by elated representatives from the resort and American Airlines. Each child was gifted a bag with notebooks, crayons, pencils, rulers, erasers, sharpeners and more. The school also received a laptop for administrative purposes as well as reading books and toys for the preschoolers.

“I am happy that Sandals Foundation and American Airlines thought about us when they decided they wanted to do something for local students. These supplies will go a very far way in helping to make learning more engaging for both teachers and students,” said Dorothy Poitier, Principal at Sister Annie’s.

The representatives from American, who were on resort for their Mexico, Latin America and Caribbean 2023 Operations and Commercial organization strategic planning meeting, took the opportunity to give back to one of their most popular destinations.

“As part of our more than 35-year commitment to the Bahamas, at American we wanted to give back to this community and what better way to do it than by collaborating with our partners at the Sandals Foundation,” shared Christine Valls, vice president of sales for Florida, the Caribbean, Central and South America. “Our management team donated supplies and we are super glad that especially the reading books will form part of the school’s reading program,” she added. 

American Airlines has been a longstanding partner of the Sandals Foundation, supporting community development efforts across the Caribbean.