Usain Bolt has been recognised for his contributions to nation building at United Way’s annual Nation Builders & Employee Awards function at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston. The track star will receive the highest individual donor award.
Since setting the track alight at the 2008 Olympic Games and 2009 World Championships, shattering world records along the way, the world’s most marketable athlete has committed his resources to the improvement in quality of life of the less fortunate, through his support of early-childhood education and youth and community development programmes in partnership with United Way.
For the past three years, Bolt has been contributing to programmes focused on early-childhood education and the safety of children while learning in the basic-school environment. Basic schools in and around his community of Sherwood Content have been recipients of fire extinguishers and refurbishing work. In an effort to further improve his community, last year Bolt refurbished the Sherwood Content Health Centre at a cost of $3.4 million. The centre provides primary health-care services to over 2,000 residents annually. The refurbishing was managed by the United Way of Jamaica.
Chief executive officer of the United Way of Jamaica, Winsome Wilkins, lauded the contribution of Bolt as “a philanthropist with a passion for helping children”.
