LASCO throws support behind local sports
THE LASCO Affiliated Companies have collaborated with the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) to provide nutritional, financial and promotional support for Jamaica’s sporting associations and federations in their quest to represent the country in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Under an agreement valued at $28 million over the next four years, LASCO will provide products, services and cash for the associations through the JOA.
This initiative represents LASCO’s latest investment in local sports in a committed relationship spanning more than two decades.
“LASCO has long held a philosophy that sports is an important vehicle for personal and national development,” said Peter Mark Chin, executive deputy chairman of LASCO Affiliated Companies and managing director of LASCO Distributors Limited.
“We have been a major sponsor of sports over the years, dating back to the 1996 Olympic team when Dionne Hemmings became the first Jamaican woman to win an Olympic gold medal and Jamaica’s only gold medal for that year, which was the women’s 400m hurdles,” he said.
EAGER FOR VENTURE
Against this background, Chin said that when LASCO heard of the JOA’s plan to send athletes from 10 sports to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, they were eager to come aboard.
“When [JOA CEO] Ryan [Foster] and the JOA team shared with us their intention to foster the well-being of 41 member sporting associations, we were immediately attuned as this commendable initiative will help fuel the personal ambitions of our local athletes, as well as the national ambitions of the sporting bodies,” Chin said.
“So, with the shared vision of the JOA and our own desire to continue to fuel the passion and ambitions of our local athletes, the LASCO Affiliated Companies – LASCO Distributors, LASCO Manufacturing and LASCO Financial Services – are extremely proud to support the JOA with a sponsorship package of $28 million dollars over the next four years,” he added.
Under the LASCO-JOA partnership, the team will benefit from the wide range of LASCO nutritional products, extensive promotional support, and financial services and cash contributions necessary for supporting and sending a team to the Olympics.
LASCO’s latest venture should come as no surprise, given its appetite for ventures such as this. The company has long played a major role in helping to build a stronger Jamaica through a number of socially responsible initiatives.
“At LASCO, we celebrate our 30th year of supporting everyday family values. The LASCO name has also become synonymous with nutritious and affordable products and our major corporate programmes,” Chin said.