In honour of the sixth annual RBC Blue Water Day held on June 4, 2015, RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) organized a series of initiatives to increase awareness of the importance of water preservation.
Last Friday, RBC provided landscaping during a tree planting ceremony at Sadie Curtis Primary School.
RBC’s Blue Water Project is a $50 million global initiative to help provide access to drinkable, swimmable, fishable, fresh water, now and for future generations.
“We are pleased to announce the continuation of our support of water initiatives in The Bahamas and to build on our long-standing partnership with the community in which we live,” said Nathaniel Beneby Jr., managing director, RBC, Bahamas, Cayman and Turks & Caicos Islands.
“RBC has an ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability and we have chosen to focus on water as a core area of support because we believe that access to water will be one of the most significant environmental and economic issues facing the world in the coming decades.”
Eulease Beneby, superintendent, Southeastern District, Ministry of Education encouraged the students to preserve and appreciate our water.
“Water helps things to grow. It makes up a large percentage of the earth and our bodies,” she added.
Catherine McPhee, principal, Sadie Curtis, expressed gratitude for RBC’s contribution to beautifying the school’s grounds while teaching students the vital connection between water and growth of plant life.
Members of faculty and students from The College of The Bahamas (COB) also participated. In 2014, COB was awarded a $75,000 Blue Water Project Leadership Grant.
The $75,000 grant continues RBC’s long tradition of supporting COB. Additional ways RBC has supported the college include financing many of COB’s expansion efforts, such as building the Harry C. Moore Library and Information Centre in New Providence and new multi-use facilities on the COB campus in Freeport, Bahamas.
RBC also provided a $1 million grant to support the building of the Franklyn R. Wilson Graduate Centre, currently under construction.
“RBC has a long tradition of supporting local organizations that provide tangible benefits to our communities,” said Sharell Carroll, manager, Corporate Communications, RBC, Bahamas Cayman and Turks & Caicos Islands.
“We also recently provided a grant of $5,000 to Save the Bays, in an effort to support their environmental educational awareness program.”
According to Save The Bays CEO Vanessa Haley-Benjamin, M.S., the partnership with RBC Royal Bank speaks volumes about the growing awareness of environmental importance.
“Corporate and community partnerships such as this one are the way forward for environmental organizations such as Save The Bays as we seek to engage the entire nation in the effort to preserve our natural resources for the benefit of future generations,” said Benjamin. “Support is very important to spreading our message of environmental protection throughout the nation.”
