St Jago Foundation to host first fund-raiser

MANY OF Jamaica's top track and field athletes over the years have been past students of St Jago High School. The Spanish Town, St Catherine-based institution helped produce the likes of Bert Cameron, Melaine Walker, Yohan Blake, Kenia Sinclair and Kerron Stewart.

The track-and-field programme at St Jago helped change the lives of these athletes and many others, several of whom are from humble homes. But the programme costs a lot to manage. Factor in meals, gears and equipment and costs can really skyrocket.

The newly formed St Jago High School Foundation aims to help raise funds to support the school, and come July, one of its first big fund-raisers will see hundreds of persons taking to the streets of Ocho Rios, St Ann.

It will be the first annual St Jago/John Leiba 5K Race, and it forms part of the school's first all-batch reunion to be held in the resort town from July 29 to 31. Past students will be coming in from all over the world for the reunion.

Attorney John Leiba heads the foundation.

"Our goal is to raise at least a million dollars," he said.

long-time commitment

The school's past students association decided to name the event for the foundation head because of his long-time commitment to St Jago's track-and-field programme. Leiba is a past student and a former one-time mile runner at the Monk Street school. He has also served as manager and technical director of the track and field team.

The St Jago/John Leiba 5K fund-raising race is set for the morning of Saturday, July 30, and Leiba hopes for big support.

"We want to get as many persons as possible on-board. We'd like to have between 300 and 500 participants," he said.

"The track and field programme is very important so we are doing all we can to support it."