CIBC is once again looking to acknowledge and reward the Caribbean men and women working quietly in their communities and making a difference in the lives of many.
The bank recently announced it was relaunching one of its signature community outreach programmes, CIBC Caribbean Unsung Heroes, which had run from 2003 to 2013. The campaign will run across the 10 territories where CICB Caribbean operates.
Speaking at the launch event on 30 May in Bridgetown, Barbados, Mark St. Hill, CIBC Caribbean’s chief executive officer and chair of the ComTrust Foundation, the bank’s charitable arm behind the initiative, said the programme was a ”unique opportunity for people to identify and celebrate the immense goodness and kind acts that take place every day in our communities”.
Also speaking at the launch event, Chief Country Management Officer Donna Wellington said that the earlier years of the programme had identified “Caribbean people caring for each other in truly remarkable and selfless ways”.
“We are confident that there is still a strong culture of care and kindness in communities across the region,” she said, noting that the minimum age for nominees in the new version of the Unsung Heroes initiative has been reduced to 10.
“The majority of the region’s youth are engaged in positive and uplifting activities ranging from care for our environment, health and social issues and other positive and uplifting activities which often go unnoticed.”
The new campaign offers two categories under which persons can be nominated — the original category of ‘outstanding work in the community’ and a new category covering ‘an act of heroism/bravery/extraordinary act of kindness’ within the 12 months preceding the start of the year’s campaign. The outstanding work in the community can involve social programmes, the environment or mentorship.
Winners will be selected from among those nominated at the local level and will be announced in August. The winners from each country will then be eligible for the regional awards, the winners of which will be announced in September.
In October, the top three regional winners — the regional CIBC Caribbean Unsung Hero and two runners-up — and a guest each will be brought to Barbados for the presentation of prizes at a special awards dinner.
Special prizes will also be offered to the persons nominating the winning heroes. Nominees should be Caribbean individuals aged 10 and older and their community work should be strictly voluntary and not on behalf of any political or business entities. They should be of good character with no criminal record in the past five years and have not been previously publicly rewarded for their work.
Nominees should also be willing to have their stories, likeness or images used in publicity for the programme.
Nominations can be submitted with a video not longer than 90 seconds long, or in a written statement between 300 and 400 words, accompanied by photos. For more on CIBC Caribbean Unsung Heroes and how to make a nomination, visit the website here.
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