December 12, 2025
Usain Bolt And Puma Run To The Rescue Of Jamaican Schools With J$5M Donation
Usain Bolt has had boots on the ground since the beginning of Hurricane Melissa recovery.
The fastest man alive, Usain Bolt, and Puma have joined together to donate J$5 million each to two Jamaican high schools damaged by Hurricane Melissa.
Bolt and Puma donate J$5 million (approximately over $30,000 plus) each to St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) and his alma mater, William Knibb Memorial High in Trelawny. At William Knibb, seven buildings were damaged with six “severely impacted, including loss of roof,” according to the Jamaican Observer.
Both schools were damaged when the powerful Category 5 storm struck in late October. At STETHS in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, the grade 11 classroom block was left “completely devoid of a roof,” and roofs on the grades seven and nine blocks were also damaged, the outlet reported. The school’s principal and teachers’ cottages and the track and field athletes’ dormitories sustained significant damage, and part of the perimeter wall was broken, with the spectator stands left in pieces.
Bolt, a native of Trelawny Parish, has previously annually supported William Knibb with gear and equipment. Within days after Hurricane Melissa, he sent a team to assess damage in his hometown and surrounding areas to help as his fellow countrymen navigated the fallout from the deadly storm.
On Nov. 29, Bolt posted a video to social media showing the work he and his team have been doing to help the community. One major undertaking was providing mattresses to families to ensure they had a clean and comfortable sleep as they began the long journey through recovery.
He captioned the post, “Born Sprinter but this one will be a Marathon.”
Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall in October as a Category 5 storm, caused widespread destruction in parts of Jamaica and the Caribbean.
The donations by Bolt and Puma come amid larger relief efforts for communities and institutions affected by the hurricane, with local groups and international partners also contributing to reconstruction and support initiatives.
RELATED CONTENT: Jamaican Tourism is Back: The Mouttet Mile Signals Recovery After Hurricane Melissa