FLOW’s Miller urges athletes to grasp opportunities at Relays
FLOW Foundation executive chairman Errol K. Miller says his foundation looks forward each year to being part of something that gives young Jamaican student athletes the opportunity to display their skills on a stage such as the annual Penn Relays.
FLOW Foundation on Tuesday presented high schools and tertiary institutions that will participate in this year's event at the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field in Philadelphia with sponsorship cheques totalling more than $4 million to help offset expenses to attend the track and field meeting.
"Penn Relays would be attended by all kinds of scouts and coaches. It opens up the athletes to visitors in terms of athletics, but if there are people who are also doing well in academics, it also opens that door, too, in terms of scholarships to tertiary institutions abroad," Miller told The Gleaner in an interview following the presentation at FLOW's Carlton Crescent headquarters.
LONG-TIME SUPPORTER
FLOW Foundation has been donating funds to schools that make requests for help for more than 20 years, and Miller said that makes the event one of the highlights of the foundation's yearly activities.
"It's one of the highlights of our year's activities, one which we look forward to with a great amount of anticipation because of what it is doing. It is helping youngsters to showcase their talent, which also has the potential to showcase their talent to the world," he said.
Miller also encouraged the youngsters who compete at Penns to pay equal, if not more, attention to their academics even if they are excelling in track and field.
"They are goodwill ambassadors for Jamaica and they can erase a lot of the negative perceptions out there with regard to Jamaica," he said.
In addition to the Penn Relays fund, FLOW Foundation also supports free Internet access to all primary schools across Jamaica that request free Internet as long as the company has the facilities in the area.
The association also donates funds from its 6K road race to assist with the paediatric cancer fund in tandem with the Bustamante Children's Hospital and provides scholarships for a final-year student of engineering studying at a local tertiary institution.