After attending the 2014 Luke’s Kids Club, children in St Vincent and the Grenadines will be able to see the lucrative side of a career in sports. This year, the theme for the four-year-old summer programme is “Sports and Entrepreneurship.”{{more}}

During his address at the opening ceremony on Tuesday, Minister of Tourism, Sports and Culture Cecil Mckie congratulated the creator of the programme, Luke Browne, and his team, for putting together the initiative for the past four years.

While commenting on this year’s theme, McKie noted that sports and entrepreneurship are often linked to each other and that children attending the programme will be exposed to “the foundation which will allow them to grow into outstanding young men and women to make a contribution to community development and development of country.

“Sportsmen and sportswomen are probably the best paid persons throughout the hemisphere,” the minister declared.

“It means, therefore, from very early, our young people can choose a career path in sporting activities where they can earn millions and can in turn give back to countries and communities from which they come.”

McKie added that the programme, which will run for one month, will have a significant impact on the lives of the children. Therefore, he challenged parents to play an active role in the programme, especially by checking in to see what their children are being taught.

“I want you, the parents, to be intimately involved…I want you to inquire when the children come home each evening,” he said.

“The opportunities will be endless, but they will only be meaningful if you, the parents, work along with children, hold their hand, ensure that they continue to attend the Uncle Luke’s kids summer programme, so that by this exposure, they will continue to grow.”

Other speakers included former West Indies cricketer, Michael Findlay, and lawyer, Mikhail Charles, who addressed the importance of sports and entrepreneurship, as well as outlined some activities that the students will be a part of.

Representatives from some sponsors also gave brief remarks. Luke’s Kids Club was started in March 2011 and has since then evolved into a yearly summer programme that caters to approximately 1,000 children between the ages of four and 16.

Sponsors for the event include Columbus Inc, CCA Ltd, Subway, BDO, KPMG, Cash Money Investments, Lewis Auto Supplies, Everready Funeral Home, New Haven Funeral Home, Trotman’s Electronics, St Vincent Co-operative Bank, Armstrong Distributers, Coreas Hazells Inc, Better Brands, Yin Yang, Eastern Caribbean Group of Companies (ECGC), Allan’s Bakery and Cheverton.(BK)