COURTS Community Trust:

COURTS has also touched the lives of thousands of Jamaicans through its COURTS Community Trust (CCT) Fund. Under the Fund, projects in the areas of health, sports, youth, environment and disaster relief have been supported.

Among the projects of note is the company’s investment of $3.5 million into building a new state of the art basic school in the depressed inner-city community of Jones Town, in Kingston.

The company’s involvement in the Jones Town community has added a humanitarian aspect to its role as a corporate citizen and has cemented a relationship between the company and the community. COURTS has adopted the community of Jones Town and will continue to create hope and opportunity to those who live there.

As a model corporate citizen, the company also lends support to a number of charitable organizations and is extensively involved in other community-based activities in the areas of education, health, culture and sports.

The company is striving to increase the involvement of all its branches in the community and has thus introduced a Courts Spirit Adoption Project where each branch identifies and helps a charity in their community for the year.

Education:

COURTS sponsors various scholarships and bursaries to students who are in need. The company has established a Scholarship Fund for children of staff and customers who are diligent and hardworking but are unable to afford tuition and examinations fees.

At the secondary level, COURTS has a programme whereby third year Technical students who display positive qualities and are pursuing courses in Carpentry, Joinery, Building Drawing and other related subject areas, are afforded an extensive eight weeks apprenticeship period, working with local manufacturers and receiving a stipend weekly.

The students receive hands-on experience, and are awarded scholarships to cover their books and tuition expenses. The programme has expanded over the years moving from two schools in its inception to now include all the technical schools across the island.

In addition, each year two Graphic Arts students from the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts benefit from an ongoing scholarship which also covers their tuition expenses.

The company also runs a Junior Management Programme (JUMP) which provides University of Technology students with on the job training. These students are offered a chance to become Courts employees during the summer, participating in a work experience programme in marketing and other departments within the organisation. They are taught various aspects of the jobs they undertake and at the end of their tenure they are awarded scholarships to complete one year of school.

Sports:

COURTS was one of the very first sponsors to assist the Jamaica National Football Team in carrying out its various activities on the “Road to France” and continues to assist the team under the ‘Orient Express’ programme. The company has donated over $1 million dollars to the team from the Trust Fund and has helped to furnish the home some of the overseas Technical Directors.

Health:

COURTS recognizes that a person’s health is most important and as such the company undertakes a number of projects in this area.

It enabled the Cancer Society of Jamaica to procure a motor vehicle for its outreach programme to transport its diagnostic equipment islandwide for health screening. The company in association with the Sickle Cell Unit also launched a series of educational videos on Sickle Cell, for education of the public about the seriousness of the disease.

COURTS has also sponsored patients in need of surgery at the Heart Foundation of Jamaica, and its staff also participated in blood donation at the Blood Bank. The Renal Unit also benefits from a donation each month to maintain the dialysis machines.

The company supports various projects in the field of health, too numerous to mention. COURTS realizes the important role that it has to play in the development of Jamaica’s youths, communities and the nation in general, and as such the company will continue to impact positively through its corporate sponsorships and donations.