Sprint legend Usain Bolt has made a multi-million-dollar donation to his alma mater William Knibb Memorial High School. The donation was made in collaboration with Digicel Foundation, and sports gear manufacturer PUMA.
The eight-time Olympic champion made the announcement on a visit to the school on Wednesday.
“I am donating $2 million to the sports program; Digicel is going to, as of today, provide free Internet service, a saving to the school of $2 million annually; and PUMA, which has been my sponsor over the years, will be providing sporting apparel for all the teams whatever the cost,” Bolt announced to a gathering of students and teachers.
Principal Linvern Wright was overwhelmed by the generosity of all involved.
“This will go a far way in helping the school’s sporting budget. I cannot give enough thanks to all involved. It’s good to have somebody like Usain in your corner,” Wright said.
William Knibb has been doing well in the ISSA DaCosta Cup battle for the last two months and has qualified at the top of their first-round Zone C, scoring an impressive 49 goals without conceding.
Bolt said he was excited to see what this boost will do for the recovery of the school’s sports program.
“I am excited. I notice that the principal is about the sports program. I am excited about the work and dedication that the track program is showing. It starts somewhere, last year, we didn’t do so well, but I am looking forward to them improving this year. I am excited to be a part of it, supporting and helping push them in any way,” said Bolt.
Usain Bolt said he is always happy to give back to where he is from.
“Hopefully, it (donation) will impact the sports program in a positive way because that’s the whole idea. I want to encourage them, show them where I am from and that I’m back to support and give back. Hopefully, I can motivate them to do great things,” he added.
