Prevue March-April 2014 - (Page 16)

good business The Sandals Foundation With over 300 grassroots initiatives ripe for the picking, there's always room for a dash of CSR in Caribbean meetings & incentives Montego Bay Boys and Girls Club CSR at work:Montego Bay Boys and Girls Club A little over 30 years ago, a group of Caribbean nationals ran with the bold idea to build a resort that would function as headquarters for community outreach throughout the Caribbean. With Jamaican native Gordon "Butch" Stewart at the helm, the ﬁrst Sandals resort dropped anchor in Montego Bay in 1981. Fifteen resorts and over 300 programs and initiatives later, Sandals Resorts has become a global household name, with the Sandals Foundation connecting planners and travelers to vibrant Caribbean communities. "The Sandals Foundation is committed to investments that create a positive and sustainable impact on the people who live here and the environment that surrounds us," says Liz Kaiser, partnership marketing director. "As beautiful as the Caribbean is, it is a very vulnerable region that needs attention and focus." Sandals Foundation programs seem to sprout as quickly as a resort's foundation is laid, with ongoing projects in Jamaica, Antigua, Saint Lucia, The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands. In Barbados, telemedicine rooms were created as part of the SickKids-Caribbean initiative, following the debut of Sandals Barbados last November. The rooms foster collaboration between medical professionals in the Caribbean and Canadian oncologists and hematologists of the SickKids Foundation. A new dove conservation program is currently under way in Grenada, where Sandals LaSource Grenada Resort & Spa debuted this past December. The same grassroots, "roll up your sleeves and dig in" energy that propelled Sandals Resorts through its initial run in the early 1980s, seeps into the foundation's programs, making corporate social responsibilty (CSR) and teambuilding initiatives a breeze to plan. Kaiser says many groups are gravitating toward the Reading Road Trip program, where they are helping kids in underprivileged schools develop reading and comprehension skills. Tree planting and minor revamps and painting activities in local community buildings such as Jamaica's Montego Bay Boys and Girls Club, have been arranged for groups as large as 500. Picture Sport also casts a wide net over Sandals initiatives, caption capturing, in essence, what Kaiser describes as the developing character of Caribbean youth. "Programs like the Sandals Foundation's Golf Academy in Jamaica and Cricket Academies in Saint Lucia and Antigua have had very positive results on today's Caribbean tweens and teens." To date, the Sandals Foundation has trained close to 550 teachers, awarded 140 scholarships, adopted 26 schools and created 28 computer labs. Over 4,200 trees have been planted, hundreds of turtle hatchlings saved and close to 8,000 pounds of trash removed from coastal areas. The common denominator in all of the foundation's work is an investment in human capital-whether through healthcare, skills training or simply providing kids a safe place to play and "live funner," the motto of Sandals' Island Routes, a Caribbean DMC specializing in group adventures. "The promise that the Sandals Foundation has made to the Caribbean community is fulﬁlled each time a child learns to read; when a new community center opens its doors; when neighbors come together to preserve and protect our resources," explains Kaiser. Education. Community. Environment. Sounds about right. sandals.com; sandalsfoundation.org; islandroutes.com "As beautiful as the Caribbean is, it is a very vulnerable region that needs a lot of attention and focus." 16 | prevue magazine 16-17_GoodBiz-Online.indd 16 2/28/14 3:17 PM Caesar http://www.sandals.com http://www.sandalsfoundation.org http://www.islandroutes.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Prevue March-April 2014

Planner's Pick: Dallas
Fresh Meets: Marriott Hotels
Bureau Buzz: Montreal
Good Business: Sandals Foundation
Sea Shores: State of the Cruise Industry
Incentives, Golf + Spa
Special Section: California
Florida
On Location: Loews Don CeSar St. Pete
On Location: Chic Outlets
On Location: New Zealand
On Location: Los Cabos
On Location: Scottsdale
On Location: Aruba Hyatt Regency
On Location: Dolce Silverado
On Location: St. Croix
On Location: Hilton Bomonti Turkey
On Location: Aruba Marriott
Checkout: Conrad Pune, India
Meetings, incentives and Corporate Events, Club Med 2014 Edition

Prevue March-April 2014