On Wednesday March 8, 2023, Grenada Co-operative Bank Limited held a press event at the Coyaba Beach Resort Conference Room to officially launch the 12^th annual Pump it Up! Family Fun Walk. 

In her welcome remarks, Mrs. Ericka Hosten, Manager, Marketing & Customer Insights Unit, advised that the return of the Bank’s annual Pump it Up! Family Fun Walk will be held in Carriacou on Sunday March 26, 2023, starting at the Harvey Vale playing field and ending at the Hillsborough playing field. On Sunday April 23, 2023, in mainland Grenada, the Fun Walk will go from the Morne Rouge playing field to the Grenada National Cricket Stadium. 

She emphasized the Bank’s continued commitment toward the re-establishment of services at the Carlton Home rehabilitation center for substance abusers and reflected on the contributions of Jonas Browne & Hubbard (G’da) Ltd., Flow Grenada, Guardian General Insurance (OECS) Limited, Antillean Group, Coyaba Beach Resort, Body Image Health Club and Waggy T Rentals & Sounds Co. – the benefactors that have joined with Co-op Bank since 2017 to pool resources toward this initiative. 

Mrs. Hosten continued by adding: “Due to the enormity of the substance abuse problem in Grenada and the significant amount of resources required to combat the health challenges arising from it, we invite other local corporate citizens to join the efforts of the Bank, its benefactors, and the Ministry of Health…companies that share similar core values and understand the importance of this challenge to come on board.” 

In his feature address, the Bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Larry Lawrence spoke about the status of the fund to re-establish the services of the Carlton Home, which is managed by a Board of Trustees. “When we started in 2017, our goal was to raise $500,000 in five years. To date, we have raised $350,000 and we intend to extend our efforts for two years, 2023 and 2024.”

He also stated that the Bank is “further committed to increasing the amount matched for each participant registered from $1.00 to $1.50 per person per mile. In addition, we are pleased to announce that for 2023, all collections from the sale of packages will be deposited directly to the Re-establishment of the Carlton Home Fund.”

The benefactors gave a show of their commitment by presenting their financial contributions to Mr. Lawrence. 

Since 2009, a different health related charity has benefited from the proceeds of the Pump it Up! Family Fun walk, such as the Grenada Heart Foundation, Grenada Diabetes Association, Grenada Kidney Foundation, Sickle Cell Association of Grenada, Grenada Cancer Society, Pink Ribbon Society and Lupus Foundation of Grenada. As the Bank celebrates its 12^th Family Fun walk, it remains committed to promoting vibrant and physically active lifestyles, encouraging preventative approaches to health issues and making available information concerning health matters as part of its Healthier Lifestyles Programme to the public.