Bahamas Striping Donates 300 Christmas Gifts To Urban Renewal

• Company benefitted from government jobs, is now able to give back to children.

• 100 gifts pledged for Abaco Urban Renewal Office opening December 20th.

In an act of extraordinary generosity for a small company, road marking firm Bahamas Striping donated 200 Christmas presents and pledged a further 100 to be given to under-privileged children through the Urban Renewal Commission.

Acknowledging the donation and pledge, worth over $9,000 retail, was Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon. Phillip “Brave” Davis, whose Ministry of Works & Urban Development oversees Urban Renewal 2.0.

Urban Renewal Commission's Co-Chairpersons, Mother Cynthia Pratt and Algernon Allen, accepted the Christmas toys along with Police Superintendent Stephen Dean, Permanent Secretary for Urban Renewal Commission Diana Lightbourne and Urban Renewal Programs Director Gregory Butler.

DPM Davis said he found it wonderful that a small company such as Bahamas Striping which has not had three full years in business had “stepped up to the plate” to give such a large sacrifice back to the community.

Algernon Allen commented that the gifts would bring much happiness and relief to hundreds of families who are in much need of Christmas cheer. He said that there are many mothers and fathers out there who, in these hard times, aren’t able to afford gifts for their children. This donation by Bahamas Striping with the further pledge of 100 gifts for Abaco, worth $9,000 in all, is a great example of Bahamians helping each other and a wonderful act of corporate generosity and civic responsibility.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia “Mother” Pratt joined the DPM Davis and Mr. Allen in praising Bahamas Striping for thinking of the less fortunate families and children. Mother Pratt commented that it is wonderful to see such a young man as Atario Mitchell wanting to consider others and give back to society. She said the large number of gifts will provide many parents comfort and a sense of relief that they can give something more to their children. Ms. Pratt said this is a season for generous giving and wished all the families of the Bahamas, particularly those in financial need, blessings for the Christmas season.

During the presentation, President of Bahamas Striping, Atario Mitchell, at first requested that 20 gifts be sent to Abaco, the island where he grew up. But when he heard that Urban Renewal’s new office was opening up at the former NIB Building in Marsh Harbour on December 20th, he said he would instead give a further 100 gifts to celebrate the opening.

“We’re first and foremost Bahamians,” said Mitchell, “and we must consider others in need. My company, because of the government’s deciding to put Bahamian stripers to work, is now able to be generous. We started two and a half years ago under the Self Starter Program with $5,000 from the taxpayers. Now, having completed our first big government job for the Bahamas Speed Week, we find ourselves in a position where we can give back. Indeed, we as Bahamians have a responsibility to help others in need,” said Mitchell.

Mitchell referred to a key event in his company’s progress when in August this year DPM Brave Davis promised him and his staff that Bahamians would soon have the opportunity to stripe public roads, which was previously a rare occurrence.

“There are many ways we can give back to Bahamian society and perhaps the best one is the training we do. In order to have the confidence to spend money on training we needed the support from the Ministry of Works. We took the DPM’s promise in August at his word. Even before we had any thermoplastic striping jobs booked, we decided to take a risk and bring in an expensive UK certified striping trainer to teach our staff,” added Mitchell.

Managing Director of Bahamas Striping, Sean Adderley, said: “We have a philosophy to give back to the Bahamas, particularly our young men. Our new UK trainer taught our staff about UK Road Marking Standards, different kinds of markings and lines, about the machines and the materials. We asked the Ministry to give us work so these young staff could apply their newfound knowledge in the field. We’re grateful that the Ministry responded so quickly and gave us our first big thermoplastic work on a major Bahamian road,” said Adderley.

Mitchell said he was inspired to find ways to show his appreciation when he was working on his first big project for the government. “For Bahamas Speed Week, we were asked to do thermoplastic and paint, and at the Sports Center we painted the Go-Kart track. We were asked to paint a large Bahamian flag. That got me thinking about our great country and how lucky I was to be doing this. My team and I have to thank the Ministry’s Chief Engineer for Roads, Mr. David Bullock, for that job. These gifts are a small way to give some joy—something to show our appreciation for that first job,” said Mitchell.

DPM Davis rounded up the presentation thanking Bahamas Striping saying that he hopes many companies in the private section can follow suit and remember the under-privileged among us. Davis said the officers serving Urban Renewal 2.0 such as Police Superintendent Stephen Dean, URC Permanent Secretary Diana Lightbourne, and all their colleagues such as URC Programs Director Gregory Butler, deserve praise for helping those in need. Davis said Urban Renewal 2.0 has identified many families and children in need and is a wonderfully effective way to reach out to them and touch their lives with some Christmas joy.



Road marking company, Bahamas Striping, which began less than three years ago with a $5,000 government Self Starter Grant, found another way to give back to The Bahamas in presenting Urban Renewal 2.0 with over $9,000 worth of Christmas toys for under-privileged children. Accepting the 300 gifts for Urban Renewal 2.0 were: (seated, L-R): Urban Renewal Commission (URC) Permanent Secretary Diana Lightbourne; URC Co-Chairperson Cynthia “Mother” Pratt; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works & Urban Development the Hon. Phillip “Brave” Davis; Bahamas Striping President Atario Mitchell; URC Co-Chairperson Algernon Allen; (standing, L-R): URC Human Resources Project Officer



Deputy Prime Minister “Brave” Davis (5th from L) praised Bahamas Striping for its generous donation of over $9,000 worth of Christmas presents on behalf of the Urban Renewal Commission for less fortunate children. The DPM encouraged other companies to follow suit saying that Urban Renewal’s organisation is in touch with many families that are in great need. The gifts, said Davis, are a way of showing love and care for hard-pressed families in these tough economic conditions. Among others at the presentation were (L to R): Bahamas Striping President Atario Mitchell, trainee Derrio Griffin; Managing Director Sean Adderley; Supervisor In Training Triston Johnson; trainee Kendike Major; and Certified UK Striping Trainer Brian Bostock.



With Deputy Prime Minister “Brave” Davis (Left) looking on, Co-Chairperson of The Urban Renewal Commission, Cynthia “Mother” Pratt (2nd from R), gives Bahamas Striping President Atario Mitchell a thankful hug for being so generous to the children with 300 Christmas toys. Mother Pratt said she found Mitchell’s giving spirit “very inspiring” especially as he was so young and had only been in business short while. Behind DPM Davis is Greg Butler, Programs Director for Urban Renewal, and far right is Bahamas Striping Managing Director Sean Adderley.