GraceKennedy is committed to contributing to community development in all the countries in which we have a presence. We also encourage our employees to participate actively in activities in the communities in which they live and work.
In the Caribbean and Central America GraceKennedy works closely with NGOs such as the Red Cross Society, The Salvation Army and service clubs, supporting programmes relating to the elderly and indigent as well as hurricane recovery efforts.
Outside the region, we partner with several organisations, sponsoring education on immigration issues and other matters affecting Caribbean nationals in North America and the United Kingdom.
Education
Through two of our Foundations, the GraceKennedy Foundation and the Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation, we contribute significantly to secondary and tertiary-level education.
For over 25 years, the GraceKennedy Foundation has invested an average of US$23,000 annually in funding scholarships to tertiary level institutions in Jamaica. These include The University of the West Indies, the University of Technology Jamaica, and the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts.
In 1991, the company established the S. Carlton Alexander Chair in Management Studies; and in 1992, the James Seivright Moss-Solomon Chair in Environmental Management, both at The University of the West Indies Mona Campus. The Chairs are maintained at a cost of US$418,000 each annually.
GraceKennedy also supports education through the Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation, a Foundation established by the company’s staff to support development in low income communities adjacent to our locations in Jamaica.
This Foundation pioneered a homework programme which has served as a model for other companies and NGOs in Jamaica. This programme continues to provide services to nearly 500 students attending high schools in the Kingston, St. Andrew, St.Catherine and Westmoreland.
In Belize we are involved in school feeding programmes, as well as a business education programme under which the company seeks to sensitise students at all levels about business issues.
Sports
GraceKennedy has a history of involvement with local sporting associations based on our perception of organized sports as one of the greatest vehicles for promoting fair play, discipline and a drive for excellence among youth.
Athletics
GraceKennedy is the title sponsor of Jamaica’s annual Boys and Girls Athletic Championships managed by the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA). The event is the biggest school boy and girl athletics championship in the Caribbean and is the foundation from which Jamaica’s future athletic stars emerge. This event is co-sponsored by GraceKennedy Limited along with its subsidiaries, Grace Foods & Services, GK General Insurance Company Limited (GKI), GraceKennedy Remittance Services Limited (agents for Western Union), and First Global Bank Limited (FGB).
Schoolboy Cricket
GraceKennedy is a longstanding supporter of schoolboy cricket. In Jamaica, we are major sponsors of the Grace Shield and Grace Headley Cup Cricket Competitions, both of which are managed by the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), in collaboration with companies in our financial services division.
League Basketball/Soccer
GraceKennedy Money Services partners with local leagues and associations across Jamaica to sponsor basketball and soccer under the Western Union brand. Another subsidiary, Dairy Industries (Ja.) Ltd., is also a long-time sponsor of local soccer.
Charities
All our companies have adopted favourite charities, for which employees undertake fundraising activities.
Several of our companies initiate local beautification projects including the establishment of play areas for young children. GK General Insurance Company Limited (GKI) and GraceKennedy (Belize) Limited (GKB) are two of our companies that invest heavily in beautification projects.
