The Island Spirit Fund

Our Island Spirit Fund partners have been hard at work! In the first half of this year, there were more than 39,496 labor and volunteer hours completed, 742 clients served, 87 homes or jobs completed, 75 community events held, and 414 trees planted.

Here’s what some of their hard work looks like:

• Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands' partner We Grow Fund used grant funds to distributed trees to farmers on St. Thomas as part of a native tree restoration project. Thirty farmers received fruit trees to replace some of the thousands that were destroyed by hurricanes Maria and Irma. The trees will contribute to the farmers’ livelihoods and provide yummy fruit for the island with varieties including mango, soursop, avocado, guava, caimito, egg fruit, starfruit, dwarf coconut, lime, lemon, and three varieties of apple!
• The St. Thomas Recovery Team has celebrated the completion of several home rebuild projects, complete with donated furniture and new home gardens for some of the families. In the image above, you can see the final ceremonial nail hammered into a rebuilt home by a new homeowner. These ceremonies are full of emotion: joy, relief, gratitude, and praise. The Island Spirit Fund has provided valuable funding for construction materials.

Our partners express that they often feel that their communities are isolated and their voices unheard. But through community and your support, they’re seeing lives throughout the islands are being impacted for the better and people’s wellbeing stabilized. In the words of Jay Rollins from the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development, “We cannot express our gratitude enough and hope you will continue to stand with us in solidarity to build resilience!”