LUCELEC Provides Wide Ranging Support for Youth Programmes

As the Castries Youth Football League moves into its fifth week, main sponsor St Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) is pleased with the action thus far. LUCELEC has been a title sponsor of the Castries Football Council organized competition since its inception. Corporate Communications Manager Roger Joseph says the company’s investment in the tournament over the last four years has more than paid off.

“We have seen the tournament grow to include more teams.  We have seen an improvement in the quality of football being played, as well as in the overall organisation of the tournament. The shift from the school summer holidays to a longer tournament during the September – October period has also provided more continuous competitive football for the young teams which is necessary for overall improvement of their game,” says Mr Joseph.

Three divisions of the Youth Football League are expected to conclude play on October 19, 2013 – the remaining Under 20 Division will be held in January 2014. The football competition is one of several camps and youth related activities LUCELEC sponsors during the summer months of June to August.

For several of them, this was not the first time LUCELEC had provided financial support. These included the La Clery Summer Camp where allowance was made for sixty underprivileged children to attend the four week programme and Camp Lajwa for children with disabilities hosted by the National Council of and For Persons with Disabilities.

LUCELEC also continued to fund the summer programmes of the Vieux-Fort and Dennery public libraries as well as the Annual Summer Camp organized by the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force Community Relations Branch in Laborie. Similarly, a partnership with C&A Farm exposed young people aged 12-20 years to basic farming skills such as seedling preparation and compost making.

This year too, LUCELEC funded the attendance of five students from the Dunnottar School and Lady Gordon Opportunity Centre at the GAMA Learning Institute and Aspire Creative Enterprise Summer Camp. In addition, the company provided t-shirts and materials to the Soufriere Action Theatre for a two week summer workshop that exposed participants to various cultural arts including drumming, storytelling and sports.

LUCELEC also worked with the Micoud Brethren Assembly, contributing to the Annual Vacation Bible School for children between the ages of 5-13.

Mr Joseph says the company supports these projects because they target and expose young people to various life skills as well as culture and sports.  He notes the Company’s contributions generally go towards supporting the attendance of young people who would otherwise not be afforded the opportunity to participate in these activities.