NEW YORK (JIS) Thursday, April 02, 2009 – Hollywood Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, her husband Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes, and local business leader Brian Grant will be bestowed with the International Community Service Award by Team Jamaica Bickle at a pre-Penn Relays event on April 16, 2009.
Ms. Ralph and Mr. Hughes will be presented with the award because of their leadership in fighting against the spread of HIV and AIDS globally; and Mr. Grant will be presented with the award because of his leadership in increasing business and trade between the Greater Philadelphia region and the Caribbean.
The presentation ceremony will be held on Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 6:30 p.m., at the PECO Energy Company Corporate headquarters, 2301 Market Street – West Lobby, Philadelphia , PA.
The prestigious International Community Service Award was created in 2004 to recognize those individuals and organizations whose humanitarian and business interests have a major impact in the international community. Other recipients of the award include, Hon. Dwight Evans, Hon. Jannie Blackwell, Mr. Kenny Gamble, Dr. Walter P. Lomax, and Honorary Consul Stanley Straughter.
Now in its 15th year, Team Jamaica Bickle (TJB) is a volunteer corps that provides over 1,200 hot meals per day, hotel assistance, ground transportation, and hospitality services for the 400-plus participating athletes and coaches from Jamaica and the Caribbean attending the annual Penn Relays Carnival in track & Field Athletics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Field, Philadelphia.
Many of the participating athletes and schools lack the financial resources to pay for all their expenses – hence the creation of Team Jamaica. Several now famous Olympians are alumni of the Team Jamaica Bickle programme, most notably the world’s fastest man and woman, Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown.
“Many of these athletes compete at the Penn Relays in order to win track/academic scholarships to the United States”, says TJB Philadelphia Chair, Barbara Wilson, “It’s as if they are running to improve their lives and they are”.
The ceremony/reception is free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted and are encouraged. For more information, call: 610-908-7007.
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Contact:
Aubrey L. Campbell
JIS/NY
T: 212-935-7506
