Covered stands for Newtown Playing Field

The Newtown Playing Field will soon receive a covering for its bleachers thanks to the Beyond Banking programme established by the National Bank of Dominica Ltd (NBD).
The initiative is a company sponsored volunteer programme that focuses on community development.

Through the program, employees are invited to submit a proposal for a community-based project and the winning staff member leads a group of staff and community volunteers to implement the project. According to Lisa Latouche, Marketing Associate at the Bank this is NBD’s way of living their mission to improve the quality of life in the communities they serve.

Leader of the project Daren Pinard, who is also a coach of the Harlem Football Academy felt elated that his project was the winning entry. “Through my involvement as a coach and a football fan, I recognized the need to have the stands covered. I informed Mr. Leogal about the Beyond Banking programme, we put the proposal together and here we are.”

Don Leogal, President of the Harlem Sports Club, thanked the Bank for its involvement in covering the stands. “We’ve been seeking resources to cover the bleachers for years. We are grateful to NBD because patrons can now watch the games more comfortably – even when it is raining.”

The project is 80% complete. The Harlem Football League starts in a month and the covering of the stands will definitely be ready before that.

“I am an advocate for community involvement,” said Mr. Ellingworth Edwards, Managing Director of NBD. “Therefore it gives me great pleasure when NBD staff contribute meaningfully to the development of their communities. Beyond Banking is the ideal avenue to integrate the Bank and the community.”

Volunteers of the project included NBD staff, members of the community and members of the Executive of the Harlem Sports Club.

The cost of the project was $7,500 and NBD contributed $5,000.