MONTEGO BAY — Long known for their charitable work in the Caribbean, Sandals’ Chairman Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart’ and his family have created a prestigious new award that recognizes those who share their same dedication to giving back.

The first-ever Stewart Family Philanthropic Award was handed out at the 18th Annual Sandals Travel Agency Recognition (STAR) Awards earlier this month at Beaches Turks & Caicos. This year, Heidi Clarke, Executive Director of the Sandals Foundation, was honoured as the award’s first recipient for her decade-long service and dedication to the Foundation.

Speaking on behalf of the Stewart family, SRI Deputy Chairman Adam Stewart, who created the Sandals Foundation in 2009, described Clarke as a “big-hearted, purposeful individual’ and credited her for shaping the lives and future of the Caribbean.

“Heidi Clarke is the champion at the helm of the Sandals Foundation and has effortlessly done the most remarkable job in inspiring hope and creating a sustainable impact on the islands we call home,” he said. “Heidi’s passion and strong commitment to philanthropy is unprecedented.”

Over the years, Clarke has been instrumental in developing and maintaining relationships with non-profit organizations in the Caribbean, as well as corporate partners and volunteers. According to Adam, Clarke has helped impact close to one million people in the region and has implemented hundreds of projects and programs valued at over US$58 million over a 10-year period.

Future recipients of the award will embody Clarke’s same attributes and achievements, including:

• Dedication to improving the lives of others
• Promotion of positive environmental and social transformation
• Breaking out from the norm to serve his/her fellow Caribbean citizens
• Transforming the power of a program idea into action
• Providing opportunity to underrepresented, poor and marginalized youth
• Evidence of meaningful contributions to the non-profit sector and significant achievements in his/her field and/or the service sector
• Ability to build and use organizational infrastructure to increase mission and community impact
• A minimum of 10 years of experience serving others to create lasting change in the Caribbean and beyond

To learn more about the Stewart Family Philanthropic Award, or to nominate an individual or organization for the next award, go to https://sandalsfoundation.org/.