Courts Endorses Mobay City Run as Platinum Sponsor

Manager for the Montego Bay branch of furniture and appliance retailer, Courts, the platinum sponsor for this year’s MoBay City Run, Glendon Lowe, says glowing testimonials from beneficiaries of the annual charity event are among the primary reasons for his organisation’s decision to support the initiative.

The event’s organisers target financial support for early-childhood and tertiary students and institutions from the proceeds, which have, to date, totalled $15 million since the initiative commenced in 2014.

“Education is a very vital part of what we do. We want to ensure that we support the people that support us. Jamaica has been supporting Courts since the 1950s and so, with that in mind, the company had no problem providing the sponsorship,” Mr. Lowe said.

He was speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank at the Agency’s Regional Office in Montego Bay on April 20.

Mr. Lowe said consequent on the organisers’ focus, “it wasn’t a hard decision when we were approached to become a sponsor”.

“The principals of the company (Courts) were elated, as a matter of fact. The initial sponsorship in terms of cash was $500,000 and, of course, there was (additional) sponsorship as it relates to kind, which took (the total) up to $1 million,” he indicated.

Mr. Lowe, who said the organisers should “take a bow” for their achievements to date, emphasised that Courts deems it part of their corporate responsibility to participate in community events such as the MoBay City Run, which he noted “falls right within what we do”.

He said based on the event’s previous outcomes, “we have no doubt that the fifth staging… will be yet another successful (one)” and assured that “we will definitely be back, as we see this as a wonderful partnership”.

For his part, MoBay Logistics Coordinator, Emerson Whittley, who oversees the initiative’s scholarship component, said while maintaining a high grade point average (GPA) is key when deliberating over applications, students’ needs are also taken into consideration.

“We have many students, some from inner-city and volatile communities… some who are the first from their families to attend a tertiary institution… who are in dire need of assistance. These are some of the main persons we want to help,” he indicated.

The fifth MoBay City Run sprints off from the Old Hospital Park on Gloucester Avenue, Montego Bay, on Sunday, May 6 at 6:00 a.m.

The list of beneficiaries is being expanded this year to include the first ever secondary institution to be selected – Mount Alvernia High School.