Chamber as Advocate: How the Chamber helps businesses give back

Businesses can only thrive in vibrant communities, so they understand the importance of being good corporate citizens and giving back. The Chamber is in a perfect position to help, by bringing businesses, community groups and non-profits together in ways that create positive and sustainable change, leading to situations where everyone benefits.

A great example is the Annual Golf Classic, which is the Chamber’s most popular networking event. More than 20 teams representing every kind of business enjoy the fun and camaraderie of the tournament as they compete for titles and prizes. By meeting in a fun and informal atmosphere they are able to strengthen relationships both within their industry and outside it. But it also doubles as a fundraiser for local charities and non-profit organisations. This year Junior Achievement will be benefitting, and funds will help develop tomorrow’s leaders and entrepreneurs. In previous years the Golf Classic has supported many other not-for profit organizations, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Jasmine Hospice & Palliative Care, and Meals on Wheels. 

Leadership Cayman, the Chamber’s leadership program has always encouraged participants to give back to the community by putting their leadership skills to work in Class Project. This year, Leadership Cayman’s Class of ’22 gave back by staging a ‘lock-in’ style fundraiser at the Chamber Offices, resulting in a total of 34,000 KYD for the local not-for-profit mentorship program, Boyz2Men.Ky.

The Chamber’s mandate, ‘Support, Promote and Protect,’ applies to business and the community alike.  That means establishing programs that meet objectives of both businesses and the community is built into the fabric of the chamber, informing everything that it does. The Chamber believes that good corporate citizenship is essential, not just through money given to charity but in the way companies treat their workers. It was the Chamber who first established the principle of saving for retirement, an initiative that has now become law.

That is also why the Chamber recently featured the work of Inclusion Cayman in one of its Lunch & Learn sessions. Inclusion Cayman is a non-profit that believes in including disabled people in every aspect of life. The session showed how businesses can benefit directly by embracing diversity in its workforce, but also indirectly, through enhanced public perception. People like to know that businesses are reaching out and trying to help, and that in turn encourages them to support those businesses. The Chamber is committed to supporting businesses and committed to encouraging them to reach out and help their communities to build a stronger Cayman together.