DPM and Minister of Works & Urban Renewal was presented with $7,500 donation to restore five basketball courts.
Two-year old 100% Bahamian striping company, Bahamas Striping, donated $7,500 worth of striping work to upgrade and restore five basketball courts for Urban Renewal 2.0.
Accepting the donation was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works & Urban Renewal, the Hon. Phillip “Brave” Davis, M, who was recently invited by the Bahamas Striping to demonstrate the road marking skills of its young Bahamian crew at the Johnson and Eastern Roads junction.
DPM Davis praised the skills of the young Bahamians whose ages range between 17 and 24 and their goodwill.
Davis said: “Corporate citizens signing on to Urban Renewal is a critical part of our plank. It’s a government initiative that has a critical component in the involvement of corporate citizens and NGOs. The challenge we have in our inner cities—with crime and joblessness, with health and housing issues—that we are trying to attack very aggressively, requires more than just the efforts of government agencies.”
“So, on behalf of the government, I am very pleased that Bahamas Striping has come forward and will be assisting in our efforts for Urban Renewal and I thank them very much for their donation,” said Davis.
Bahamas Striping’s President, Atario Mitchell, presented the $7,500 certificate to DPM Davis saying: “Me and Bahamas Striping are doing our part for the Urban Renewal program. I think it is a good initiative and deserves success. My company loves the Bahamas and we wanted to find a way to give back to the community. It’s hard to come up with cash but we can donate our services. We have a team of young Bahamians who also want to give back to the community, so they want to come and restore these basketball courts.”
“Basketball court striping is a specialty of ours and our young staff all enjoy the game. It’s the biggest sport in our country and our young staff members themselves know how important it is to any community to have a proper court. It’s a significant way to create a good environment. It gives our youth something positive to do and would help keep them off the streets. Whether you are young or older, having that good court nearby is a great way to let off steam, stay fit and feel good,” said Mitchell.
Bahamas Striping’s Managing Director and Business Development Manager, Sean Adderley, said that: “Perhaps the best way we help the community is keeping our young Bahamians employed, training them as stripers and giving them as many skills as possible. It’s a policy and a model that we could use in all the islands around the Bahamas. We also like to give back more directly. In the two years since we were formed, we’ve donated eight basketball courts to various communities. These five new courts make the total 13. We also donated 6,000 bottles of water to Hurricane Irene victims.
Mitchell asked DPM Davis for a request that one of the courts chosen for upgrade would be in Mitchell’s native town in Murphyville, Abaco. The other four courts chosen by Urban Renewal will be in New Providence’s inner city areas.
At the presentation were Permanent Secretary of Works, Colin Higgs; Bahamas Striping’s Managing Director, Sean Adderley and several young Bahamas Striping staff who were honoured to meet the Deputy Prime Minister and show their striping skills.
Bob Bower
CAPTION: Bahamas Striping donated $7,500 in work for striping five basketball courts for Urban Renewal 2.0. Two of company’s striping crew, Anton Frazier (2nd from Left) and Anfernee Rolle (4th from left), both only 17 years old, presented the $7,500 striping certificate to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Urban Renewal, The Hon. Phillip “Brave” Davis, MP (center). Also present were Bahamas Striping’s President, Atario Mitchell (left) and Managing Director, Sean Adderley (right). Last week, Bahamas Striping invited Davis to Johnson & Eastern Roads junction to demonstrate their striping capabilities. The all-Bahamian company will donate striping for four courts in Nassau and one in Abaco.
