LOCAL SOCA artiste Erphaan Alves yesterday unveiled his new song and video entitled “Believe” in collaboration with Press Play Jukebox, aimed at increasing support for the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) Team TTO #10golds24 Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund.
The launch was staged yesterday at the TTOC office, located at Abercromby Street, Port of Spain.
The video showed a number of Trinidad and Tobago athletes who have either qualified or vying for selection, in their respective sporting disciplines, at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Among the athletes who were shown in the four-minute long video are Christopher George (judo), Nigel Paul (boxing) - both of whom have qualified for the Games, and veteran shot putter Cleopatra Borel.
In addition to the video, General Manager of Press Play Jukebox, Dwayne Cambridge, also spoke on the Text DONATE initiative, which enables persons to text the word DONATE from their mobile phones to a number or codes. “At the end of the day, we have to take ownership of our athletes because when they win we share in the glory,” said Cambridge.
“And that’s something that is often lost in it all.
“Once they succeed, we jump up and down, but what happened before that, what happened on that journey? It’s very important what the TTOC does in terms of athlete welfare and preparation. That’s why we are proud to be a partner of the TTOC.” He continued, “athletes need support and that support. It costs to win, it costs just to compete, and that’s something that is often times lost.” Focusing on the Text Donate initiative, Cambridge stated, “someone can take their cellphone and text the word DONATE to a variety of short codes - TTO10, TTO20 and TTO50.
And they will donate $10, $20 and $50 respectively to the Athlete Welfare and Preparation Fund which goes directly to the athletes and their preparation to the Olympics.” He emphasised, “the word that you text doesn’t change - DONATE.
What changes is the short code that you text it to. So if you want to donate $10, you text DONATE to TTO10.
You’ll get a message saying ‘thank you for your contribution’.” Cambridge added, “$50 is the maximum donation you can make at any one time but you can feel free to text again and again.” Concerning the video, he noted, “it’s important to recognise the contribution of Erphaan, who was willing to support the effort and who contributed his considerable song-writing and vocal talents to this.” George stated, “I love the video, I love the idea that we actually need to be able to support the athletes financially. The TTOC has actually been a great motivator for me.
Brian Lewis, the president of the TTOC, has actually been contacting me personally over the last two years, like ‘Chris, how is the Olympic journey going?’. And he was actually the first person to congratulate me.” And Paul commented, “I like the video, seeing myself on the screen. I’m dedicated to represent Trinidad and Tobago to the best of my ability.”