The company’s commitment to help build stronger communities
follows a three-tiered approach comprising corporate funding,
employee-sponsored initiatives, and
an annual healthy lifestyles event.
Our community outreach spans a
wide spectrum of social programmes
that encourage education, youth
development, protection of the
environment, health and safety.
We are especially proud of our
long-standing partnership with the
College of The Bahamas through
which we provide scholarships to six
qualifying students each year. Since the
scholarship programme’s inception in
1988, we have provided over $300,000 in tuition assistance for
more than 80 students.
We also continue our support of the national
competitive swimming programme through the Annual
Family Guardian Swim Meet hosted
by the Barracudas Swim Club, now
in its twenty-fourth year.
During 2009 we completed our
5-year pledge to the Bahamas
National Trust, providing a
total of $50,000 towards the
development of the Harrold and
Wilson Ponds National Park.
The Company’s Annual Calendar
Photo Contest continues to inspire
local photographers and the public
to heighten their awareness and
appreciation of Bahamian nature. Our calendars have been
distributed among our policyholders and the general public
for over forty years and have played a part in documenting
our national flora and fauna.
We are very proud of the level of employee volunteerism
which has been developing over the years through a
programme we have dubbed Operation Love My Community. During 2009 our staff and agents visited more than 12
organizations, including the Children’s Emergency Hostel and
St. Matthew’s Daycare for the Aged (Nassau), the Northern
Council for the Disabled (Freeport), Every Child Counts
(Abaco), and Rolleville Primary School (Exuma).
Through our voluntary Staff Charity Fund programme,
employees also make financial donations to several social
causes during the year. In 2009 a significant contribution was
made to the Breathe Easy Campaign to assist in the purchase
of ventilators for Princess Margaret Hospital’s Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit.
As a part of Family Guardian's 45th anniversary celebrations in 2010,
our annual Founders' Day was launched. All company offices throughout The
Bahamas closed for business on September 17 to commemorate Family Guardian's formation
with a day of activities designed to positively impact the communities we serve.
Management, staff and agents gave their time and talent to assisting a variety
of institutions with repairs to their properties and entertainment for residents.
Our group health division (BahamaHealth) once again hosted
its Annual Slim-Down Challenge in Nassau and Freeport,
inviting clients and the public to participate in a structured
programme that brings awareness and solutions to the
epidemic of obesity and its associated health risks. For the
fourth consecutive year, free medical screening, seminars on
healthy lifestyles, diet and exercise, weekend power walks,
and a health fair encouraged participants to achieve their
fitness goals.