It’s been a while since we last updated you. And that’s for good reason – we’ve been really busy.
As you probably know, going forward we are focused on education and supporting our young people post-hurricanes and beyond. About half the public schools were condemned, hundreds of students left island as a result, and the thousands of public school students who stayed have had to share classrooms that can only accommodate them for a few hours a day. This has had a serious impact on their education and their lives in general. To help the situation, we’re working with the VI Department of Education to establish an after school program that will both inspire and uplift children having a hard time. Once the program is fully established, we will be seeking sponsorships from our community of supporters, and challenge other corporations in the Virgin Islands to be part of the solution.
And since the children aren’t the only ones impacted, we’re also focused heavily on the long-term recovery effort. We’ve been working closely with the St. Croix Long Term Recovery Team, with one of our representatives sitting on the Unmet Needs Committee, in order to establish a process for assessing the continued needs of the community, and the most effective way to address those needs. This group was established by FEMA to ensure charities and businesses assisting in the recovery effort can be coordinated and targeted going forward, and we’re honored to be part of the process. We hope once this process is set up and the Long Term Recovery Team begins accepting applications for people still in need of assistance, that you will contribute to helping with the long-term recovery process.
In the meantime, stay tuned here and on our Facebook page for updates.