Paul-Andre Walker, Staff Reporter

THE EFFECT of sport on social ills within the society is well known and Shakti Mind/Body/Fitness Centre and the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica (AMCHAM) have taken steps to utilise sport in the development of Grants Pen.

At a press conference to launch 'Fitness for Our Future' at the Shakti premises on Bedford Park Avenue, the owner of the fitness centre, Sharon Feanny, announced her intentions to raise $250,000 to help with the ongoing development of the AMCHAM Model Community Policing Services Centre and the new Edna Manley Health Centre in Grants Pen.

According to AMCHAM executive director, Becky Stockhausen, the project has expanded and will need money for its completion that was not foreseen.

The facility is in need of a proper waste treatment plant along with upgrades for the health centre.

With that in mind, Shakti has organised a weekend-long session of back-to-back classes that will cost a minimum of $1,000 per class. The proceeds will go towards those developments in Grants Pen.

CREATIVE IDEA

"I know that Becky (Stock-hausen) could approach any number of sponsors and get the amount she needed. It's such a worthy cause. However, we thought that we could help in a different way. I thought this was a very creative idea and I like the idea of sweating for what we want," said Feanny.

Other corporate entities have also come on board in an attempt to ensure that the goals of the weekend of May 27-28 are achieved.

Wisynco, Lithographic Printing, Chez Max, Air Jamaica, Terra Nova Hotel, M-Cycle, and Pay Master have all joined the programme with either sponsorships of cash or kind.

According to Wisynco's director of marketing, Zachary Harding, the event is a revolutionary one that is in aid of a revolutionary crime prevention method.

HAPPY

"At Wisynco we talk about crime all the time and we realise that the best way to deal with it is to put a police station in the middle of those areas that produce high levels of crime and the American Chamber of Commerce has done that," Harding said. "So I am happy that Wisynco can be a part of this and we want to find ways of playing an even bigger role in the future," he said.

Feanny was just as vocal about the methods that AMCHAM and their sponsors, USAID, have used to reduce crime in Grants Pen and pointed to that being one of the major motivating factors for her company's sponsorship.

"After meeting with Becky, I was completely convinced that this type of initiative is what Jamaica needs to create a crime-free future," she said.