Special Olympics Bahamas Partners With Aliv – Bahamas Tribune

SHOWN (l-r) are Damian Blackburn, Chief ALIV Officer, Vashni Thompson, of Special Olympics Bahamas, Bianca Bethel Sawyer, ALIV Events, Sponsorship and Community Manager, Gilbert Williams, National Director Special Olympics Bahamas, Deron Forbes, 400m Specialist Special Olympics Bahamas, Diana Sands, ALIV Public Relations Manager and Johnny Ingle, Chief ALIV Champion

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

SPECIAL Olympics Bahamas has partnered with Aliv to enhance the development of its initiatives to better prepare the athletes to represent the country on the international stage.

Both organisations officially announced the partnership during a press conference yesterday and the $45,000 three-year sponsorship moving forward.

Gilbert Williams, national director of Special Olympics Bahamas, said the organisation will benefit exponentially from Alivs contribution.

This is indeed a very special moment for us at Special Olympics Bahamas. We have had a number of sponsors in the past and we will continue to seek out additional sponsors, but this is the first partnership since the programme officially came to the Bahamas in 1978.

Aliv is a new company but obviously theyre not prepared to take a backseat to anybody by being the first to take on this partnership, he said. Aliv is committed to the cause of Special Olympics Bahamas and we believe what we have here is a win-win situation.

Aliv wins because wherever we go we will carry the Aliv name with us, Special Olympics Bahamas wins because we have been looking for this type of funding to be able to create and innovate new programmes, the public wins because they now get to see what athletes with special needs can do. They will now get to know these athletes up close and personal. Athletes like Deron Forbes or Vashni Thompson, and that is our hope that our athletes become the face and the voice of Special Olympics Bahamas. Our athletes win because they will benefit from improved and expanding programming.

Special Olympics Bahamas is set to hold its annual Track and Field Nationals on Saturday (May 27) in the original Thomas A Robinson stadium. Athletes from Abaco, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama and New Providence are expected to compete.

Damian Blackburn, Chief ALIV Officer, said the sponsorship falls in line with his companys community-building efforts.

We believe in working with the community and have created programmes, and partnered with organisations directed at areas that will have the most sustainable and positive impact on the country. Undoubtedly, fostering an environment for people with special needs is important and the company is dedicated to helping advance the athletic pursuits for people of all ages and backgrounds. The importance of an organization such as Special Olympics Bahamas is fundamental to the growth of the country. I myself have assisted with Special Olympics committees throughout the region and was delighted when this opportunity presented itself here in The Bahamas. We at ALIV are extremely proud and happy to assist Special Olympics Bahamas with all their events, beginning as the title sponsor for the national track and field meet this Saturday. We will also be sponsoring Christmas events in Grand Bahama and Abaco later this year., he said, Special Olympics is a global organization, serving more than 4.2 million athletes in 170 nations, and it is right here, at the local level, where interested athletes, families, volunteers and supporters come together to promote health and fitness, change lives, and create communities of inclusion and acceptance. Our goal is to always meet and surpass expectations and we believe this partnership with Special Olympics Bahamas will allow us to do just that.

In 2015, 23 Bahamians competed in the Special Olympics World Summer Games. The contingent captured a total of 25 medals 11 gold, 10 silver and four bronze.

The Special Olympics has provided an opportunity for those with intellectual disabilities to showcase their talents in sports for 47 years. This year, more than 6,500 athletes from 165 countries competed in 25 Olympic-type sports.

As people, outside of our professional commitment have been deeply embedded in the empowerment of those less fortunate in ourselves. We believe in the power of sport and we all firmly believe that anyone involved in the Olympics everyone has the right to be a true Olympian and thats a fundamental concept, Johnny Ingle, Chief ALIV Champion, said, Nobody should be precluded from striving for the best, from having the support to be the best and to carry a medal.

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Special Olympics Bahamas Partners With Aliv - Bahamas Tribune