Sangster International Airport will host the 2026 MBJ Charity Run/Walk on September 6, marking the sixth year of an initiative that has grown well beyond a one-day airport event. Under this year’s theme, “Supporting Academic Dreams,” the programme has now surpassed $71 million in educational grants, according to MBJ Airports Foundation, directly reaching more than 3,300 students, with hundreds of additional beneficiaries supported indirectly.
The new edition also follows an exceptional year for the programme. Funds raised through the 2025 event were redirected towards students and educational institutions affected by Hurricane Melissa, particularly across western and southern Jamaica. With the 2026 race approaching, MBJ is continuing that education-focused mission while opening a new round of grant applications for students and community organisations.
Six years of education support
MBJ Airports Foundation Limited, the philanthropic arm of Sangster operator MBJ Airports Limited, has increasingly positioned the Charity Run/Walk as a recurring fundraising platform for education in the communities surrounding Jamaica’s main tourism gateway.
The 5K is scheduled to start at 6:00 a.m. on September 6 at Sangster International Airport. Registration for this year’s event closed on September 1, but the fundraising effort extends beyond race day through the Foundation’s education grant programme.
That continuity is significant after the scale reached in 2025. According to MBJ, $30 million was raised during last year’s staging and subsequently channelled towards students and educational institutions rebuilding after Hurricane Melissa. The operator said schools in western and southern Jamaica faced extensive disruption following the hurricane.
“The $30 Million raised from the 2025 staging came at a critical time and went directly towards supporting students and educational institutions rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa,” said Sharon Hislop-Holt, Manager, Commercial Business Development and Marketing at MBJ Airports Limited and Director of the Foundation.
MBJ provided further detail earlier this year, confirming that J$30 million in post-Melissa grants were awarded in March to more than 180 students and three institutions. The beneficiaries included 134 tertiary students and 50 secondary students, turning the proceeds from the 2025 event into a targeted component of the region’s education recovery.
From race day to a wider grant programme
The 2026 initiative returns to a broader education-support model. MBJ says the funds are intended to assist both individual students and institutions, reflecting the Foundation’s objective of financing educational opportunities for people in need.
Alongside the Run/Walk, applications are currently open for the Education Grant Award, with students and community organisations able to submit requests until September 30.
The programme has also developed several distinct areas of support. MBJ’s current grant framework includes a Team Sangster Academic Grant for airport employees or their dependants, a MBJ Community Grant targeting education access in lower-income communities, and a MBJ Inclusivity Grant supporting local organisations implementing projects for people with disabilities.
That structure gives the Charity Run/Walk a footprint extending beyond scholarships alone. The event has become a funding channel linking the airport community, surrounding neighbourhoods and educational organisations.
“Every registration and every dollar raised brings us closer to helping another student stay in school,” Hislop-Holt said, adding that MBJ wants the 2026 edition to deliver an even greater impact.
The event is supported by a network of corporate partners, with the Airports Authority of Jamaica serving as title sponsor.
An airport with a large western Jamaica footprint
The community programme also sits alongside the considerable economic and transport role played by Sangster International Airport itself.
MBJ says the airport connected Jamaica with more than 60 international destinations and handled a record 5.267 million passengers in 2024. Sangster has an estimated capacity of nine million passengers annually, while the airport provides employment to more than 7,500 people.
That scale helps explain why MBJ’s relationship with surrounding communities has become a recurring part of the operator’s activities. The Foundation formally describes its role as investing in education and community development across western Jamaica.
The connection became particularly visible after Hurricane Melissa. Beyond the education grants, Sangster itself formed part of the immediate recovery infrastructure: MBJ resumed access for relief operations and waived landing and parking charges for non-commercial relief flights bringing cargo and medical personnel into the airport from October 30, 2025.
For the 2026 MBJ Charity Run/Walk, however, the focus returns firmly to education. After six years, more than 3,300 direct beneficiaries and an expanding grant framework, the initiative illustrates how an event centred on an airport can gradually develop into a longer-term support platform for the communities around it.
