Mount Gay gives back to Alleyne School for annual We Care Day

Mount Gay Distilleries, in its continued commitment to ‘give back’ to the community, took its annual ‘We Care Day’ to the Alleyne School recently, to beautify the environs.

In addition to painting the sports facility/pavilion at the St Andrew school, de-bushing and cleaning-up the grounds and planting trees and flowers, the  100-plus team from Mount Gay, including managers and staff members, also took time to speak to the students on the importance of the activity.

Mount Gay Distilleries Managing Director, Raphael Grisoni, said, “We are very honoured to be here with you today with all of the Mount Gay staff. We are all members of the same family, not only Barbadian people, but also of Sir John Gay Alleyne, who was instrumental in raising the standards of the Mount Gay Distillery/Plantation and also the creation of this beautiful school.

Every year Mount Gay gives back to the community and that is why we are here today on our ‘We Care Day’ to try to improve your school surroundings.  In addition to painting the sports facility in the school colours it was also important for us to landscape and beautify the grounds of your school as sustainability of the environment is significant for Mount Gay.”

As part of the ‘We Care Day’ activities, Mount Gay also invited the Substance Abuse Foundation (SAF), to engage with the students on the dangers of abusing drugs and alcohol.

Grisoni explained that this was an important element of the day’s activities, “Yes we know Mount Gay produces the best rum in the world but this product has to be consumed responsibly, and we want to sensitise you on that.

“We hope that you will also share this information with your family and friends at home. This is very important, we have to be very responsible and that is why we have been partnering with the Substance Abuse Foundation for almost a year now to get this message out.”

Primary Coordinator with SAF, Allison Gotip, gave an overview of her organisation and its services as well as discussed substance abuse, addiction and the dangers of both. She said, “We have been working very tightly with those who are afflicted with the disease of addiction, which is a progressive disease.

“We are very mindful that we also need to educate persons about substance abuse and misuse, but we also look at preventative measures and that is why we have partnered with Mount Gay to take our message to Barbadians. We are very encouraged by their innovative campaign to advise persons to drink responsibly and are happy to partner with them.”

Principal of the school, Julia Beckles, thanked Mount Gay for choosing the Alleyne School. She said, “We are delighted for this kind gesture and partnership. It is great for the children to recognise that you can give back and that they can see for themselves the whole idea of Corporate Social Responsibility being practiced.

“Here is a huge company like Mount Gay looking after and showing they care about the students at the Alleyne School and we are appreciative as we recognise that we cannot do it all ourselves and so these partnerships are important.”

After over five hours of work at the school, the Mount Gay staff were treated to a relaxing afternoon at the Barclays National Park, where the company’s annual Managing Director’s High Performance Award was presented to the Bottling Department.

Grisoni explained that for the period April 2018 to March 2019, the Bottling Department not only increased its productivity by two percent, but team members in that department were also able to attain their budget, earning them the prestigious award. (PR)