Youth development, education and taking care of the environment are only some of the ways that Dart helps to enhance our community. Dart works to keep all of its employees informed on volunteering opportunities within our community. Some find these opportunities just around the corner and realise the passion they have by continuing to give back and grow and improve our islands.
For two years, Robert Weekley, Vice President of Business Development, volunteered his time to help coach the U11 boys Sunset Warriors football team.
Investing roughly six hours a week, outside of office hours, to coach the team. In January, he led the boys to the Academy Invitational mini slam cup championships. Realising there is always room for improvement, Weekley committed to running the team by holding Sunday morning sessions for the U11 and U13 boy’s teams. The league began in September and ended in June.
Weekley led the boys to the Cayman Islands Football Association U11 Boys League Cup finals. Overall, the boys placed second place out of 11 teams; scoring 49 goals and only conceding 6.
Weekley’s commitment to volunteering plays a significant role in the youth development of the Cayman Islands.
He says the skills that the boys have learnt on the field also benefit them off the field, skills such as teamwork, discipline and confidence. He says the boys have to learn how to maintain focus and understand authority and get along with others.
As a coach, he said there are two things he learned from the experience. These are maintaining a balance between work-life and coaching, and taking time to understand the kids’ strengths and to play to them so they can succeed.
Carmen Damaso-Doucette, a Senior Design Manager for Decco, is well-known for volunteering in our community. Damaso-Doucette has volunteered with the Turtle Nest Monitoring programme for two years. The monitoring takes place between the months of May and November every year.
She sets out early on mornings to walk along a stretch of Seven Mile Beach (between The Avalon and Beach Deck) to search for turtle activity. Turtle activity includes turtle tracks, better known as ‘Batabano,’ or turtle nests and eggs. When finding any sign of activity she contacts the Department of Environment by texting their turtle nest hotline on 345-938-NEST. The process can take up to 30 minutes in the mornings.
The green sea turtles, loggerhead turtles and hawksbill turtles are endangered species that represent a part of Cayman’s history and culture. She says that the flag, Cayman currency and our coat of arms reveal that turtles serve as symbols of the Cayman Islands.
Damaso-Doucette has a strong passion for the turtle nest monitoring programme. She said that volunteering is good for your mind, body and soul; some people have shared that it helps to counteract the effects of stress, anger, anxiety and depression.
“If you can combine your passions with your volunteering acts, it can be relaxing and very fulfilling,” she says.
She likes to quote Deepak Chopra, alternative medicine advocate, who said “To walk barefoot on the beach allows us to tap into the earth's natural healing energy of negative ions that can fight inflammation in your body by reducing free radicals, which are positively charged.”
Tom Rose-Innes is an Investment Analyst, identifying investment opportunities, conducting investment analysis and making recommendations, who gives back to our youth by mentoring UCCI students for the financial analyst program. The program is a global competition called the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Research Challenge, where universities from all around the world submit teams of four to five students and write a full research report on a listed stock, UCCI had Disney this year.
Rose-Innes has been an industry mentor for two years. He dedicates his time by sharing knowledge with the students on how to evaluate a public company through: valuation, assessing its moats, competition and fundamentals. He meets with the student’s afterhours every other week and corresponds via email or WhatsApp when they have any questions or concerns.
Rose-Innes enjoys the ability to teach what he loves…investing.
He says it is very rewarding to see the students put endless effort into performing well.
His commitment to the team and ensuring their success helped the UCCI team to win the Atlantic Islands region (the first time a Cayman team has won). This success quickly led them to represent Cayman by competing in the Americas finals in New York, where they competed against top universities from North and South America.
“I think that the challenge is a fantastic program that teaches students the fundamentals of investing, while also getting students interested in the industry. In fact, I met with one of the students recently, who studied psychology in his undergrad, but now wants to take the CFA exams and pursue a career in finance. Cayman is the financial hub of the Caribbean, which is why I think helping the youth in this area is so important,” he said.
Dart is committed to the community and it is through our corporate policy that allows our employees to be provided with volunteer hours.
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