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For years, in many instances, corporate support in Jamaican sport has often arrived in bursts, a sponsorship here, a donation there, but for Express Canteen Services, the investment has become something deeper. It is not simply about writing cheques. It is about becoming part of the journey.

That journey was on full display recently when the company donated JMD$500,000 to Convent of Mercy Academy Alpha to assist the school’s track and field team with travel expenses to the 2026 Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Pennsylvania. 

The support helped Alpha make history.

For the first time ever, the school entered the Girls’ 4x800m relay at Penn Relays, finishing 13th overall in 9:51. But that was only part of an impressive showing. Alpha also captured a silver medal in the International Championship High School Girls’ 4x100m relay, clocking 46.42 seconds in the final after advancing with 46.75 in the preliminaries. 

Behind those performances, however, lies a story about vision, patience and partnership.

Principal Kali McMorris said the school’s philosophy has always centred on creating opportunities for young women to discover their potential, both on and off the track.

She explained that the vision of the Sisters of Mercy has always been about producing “change makers” and “vision makers,” young women who can see themselves succeeding in every sphere of life. Athletics, she said, has become one of the vehicles helping students find confidence, discipline and purpose.

McMorris praised head coach Kirk King not just for developing athletes, but for mentoring young women into leaders in the classroom and wider society.

“We see in them the fulfilment of our mission as a school,” she said, noting that the support from Express Canteen Services has been transformative.

According to the principal, Alpha simply would not have made the trip to Penn Relays without the half-million-dollar injection from the company. While parents worked tirelessly to support the athletes locally, getting the girls “in the air and into a stadium in another country,” required genuine partnership.

She described Express Canteen Services as the school’s largest donor and one that has consistently invested in the growth of sport at Alpha. 

For the athletes themselves, the impact stretches beyond medals and travel opportunities.

Student-athlete Alia Ross expressed gratitude on behalf of the team, saying the donation had a major impact on the programme.

Ross said track and field has helped shape her into a more disciplined and structured person while also teaching her communication and teamwork skills that she hopes will carry her into the future as both an athlete and an individual. 

King’s story about Alpha’s rise perhaps best illustrates why partnerships matter in school sports.

The coach revealed that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the programme restarted with just 13 girls. From there, the school slowly climbed the standings at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Championships, moving from 31st to 25th, then 15th, before finishing 12th last year and seventh this year, only six points shy of the top five.

“It’s a plan,” King explained.

Several years ago, he walked into the principal’s office with a five-year development blueprint for the programme. There were battles along the way, he admitted, but the results are now beginning to show.

King credits the athletes’ work ethic, but he also pointed directly to the role Express Canteen Services has played in the school’s growth, especially through nutritional support. He said that once the partnership began and athletes started receiving lunches during training sessions, noticeable improvements followed.

Building a successful programme, he explained, involves much more than fast times. Nutrition, motivation, mentality and emotional support all matter. King described his role as part coach, part father figure and part mentor, stressing that the aim is not only to produce athletes but successful young women capable of thriving academically and socially as well. 

The Penn Relays performances, he said, reflected years of hard work.

Alpha’s athletes competed in the 4x800m relay for the first time in school history, won their heat in the 4x400m relay and secured silver in the prestigious 4x100m relay final. There was also a sixth-place finish in the shot put from Sajay Cruikshank.

For a programme that had travelled to Penn before without returning home with much to show, King called this year “a very good year” and said the school was proud of what the girls achieved. 

At the centre of it all has been Express Canteen’s broader commitment to youth development through sport.

Simone Foster said the company saw Alpha’s vision years ago and decided to become part of it, not just as a sponsor, but as a stakeholder in the development of the students. She pointed to the school’s success at Champs and Penn Relays as proof that sustained investment can produce meaningful results.

Express Canteen Services’ involvement in youth sport now stretches well beyond Alpha. The company recently served as title sponsor of the All-Star U14 and U16 football competitions, has supported the football programmes at Mona Preparatory School and Sts Peter and Paul Preparatory School, and also helped sponsor Excelsior High School on an overseas football tour. 

For Foster, the mission is simple.

The company, she said, wants to continue empowering Jamaican youth through sport while helping young people “self-actualise” whether in track and field, football, netball or any other discipline.

And at Alpha, that philosophy is already bearing fruit, one race at a time.