Usain Bolt & the Digicel Foundation Enact Change
From sports to education, Digicel Lifetime Ambassador Usain Bolt, the Usain Bolt Foundation, and the Digicel Foundation tackle a multitude of sectors.
For Olympic sprinter and Digicel Lifetime Ambassador Usain Bolt, his philanthropic nature and altruistic mindset are evident through the Usain Bolt Foundation. At the Digicel Foundation, we recognise, uplift, and celebrate Bolt’s mission by championing his initiatives.
One sector that we focused on together was healthcare at Bolt’s former Waldensia Primary and Infant School. Here, he offered access to a complimentary dental clinic for two days, a partnership amongst the Usain Bolt Foundation and the Digicel Jamaica Foundation, as well as the SprintRay Foundation and the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona School of Dentistry. When talking about the collaboration with their brand ambassador and chief speed officer, Digicel Public Relations Manager Elon Parkinson called out that “‘to provide the role of technology to the medics who absolutely need superfast Internet in order to connect to the cloud and to utilise their applications and software for the benefit of the patients.’”
Local patients of the dental outreach programme included youth and adults. Also, in Bolt’s hometown of Sherwood Content in Trelawny, the Usain Bolt Foundation and the Digicel Jamaica Foundation presented a multipurpose court to the community and repaired other sporting fields. The J$4 million investment was estimated to positively impact about 1500 locals.
Additionally, at his alma mater William Knibb Memorial High School, Bolt contributed a multi-million-dollar donation in collaboration with the Digicel Foundation and PUMA. In Bolt’s own words, he said “‘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’s Presence at Digicel
Over the years, Bolt has continued to support the Digicel Foundation’s efforts with his presence and backing. One example was when Bolt visited Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive High School, which the Digicel Jamaica Foundation helped to revamp its science and lab canteen, dining area and gazebo and perimeter fencing. A water well and solar panels also contributed to self-reliability and sustainability. At Tivoli Gardens, Bolt went on to encourage students by saying, “‘Anything is possible. Don’t think limits. One thing I’ve learnt is, if you want to be great, you have to work and push yourself, it never comes easy. I never thought I would be the world’s fastest man. But with the effort and talent that I have, I worked at it and pushed myself, and now I am the fastest man in the world. Always work for what you want, never give up because you never know where it might take you.”’
Lastly, and most recently, Usain Bolt was prepared to assist his community for the Digicel and the Digicel Foundation’s 2023 Christmas season. As a proud sponsor of Usain Bolt since 2004, it's wonderful to reflect on everything that we have been able to accomplish together.