Foundation last year,structuring decades of grassroots support around three core pillars: environmental sustainability, youth sports development, and cultural preservation. “We’ve had a longstanding relationship with the community that has always been important for us, our employees, for our customers, for just the acceptance of tourism generally,” Destang emphasizes. All Bay Gardens properties maintain Green Globe certification, hinting at the resort’s environmental focus alongside Saint Lucia’s broader sustainability goals for its tourism sector. The resort’s sports investments have yielded remarkable returns.“I remember Julien Alfred when she first did well internationally when she won gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games. She was 16 at the time, and we invited her and some others to Bay Gardens Beach Resort and gave them prizes,” Destang recalls. Alfred went on to become Saint Lucia’s first Olympic gold medalist in 2024.“We were very early involved in supporting Julien Alfred and her family. It’s amazing the impact it has on people when they are recognized formally.” Cultural preservation takes center stage through events like the Taste the Bay Food Festival, which drew over 1,000 attendees last year.“Every single one of the eight or nine performances we had were local artists. We really want to highlight how much talent there is locally,” Destang notes. The Daren Sammy Foundation appointed specific ambassadors for each pillar: Daren Sammy for youth sports, musician Ezra 45 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 12, ISSUE 07 BAY GARDENS RESORTS
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI5MjAx