The Island Spirit Fund

In the two years since the launch of the Island Spirit Fund, we’ve seen both major progress and some setbacks. Our nonprofit partners in disaster-affected places in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the U.S. mainland are working hard day-in and day-out to bring normalcy. They have completed 179,766 hours of volunteer and paid work, served 9,987 clients, constructed or repaired 254 homes, and planted 1,581 trees, and held 180 community events.

In some ways, the recovery is well underway, though in other ways, it’s still just beginning. With this in mind, we’ve partnered with both new organizations and some familiar groups for next year.

Today we’re excited to introduce two new partners of the Island Spirit Fund:

• Protectores de Cuencas is restoring protected forests in Puerto Rico that have been degraded by wildfires and hurricanes. They work to maintain the forest and control invasive species. They are collecting seeds today, with the goal of planting more than 65,000 trees and 100 unique tree species to keep up the diversity of the forest tomorrow.
• Bayou City Waterkeeper is conducting wetland analysis near Houston, TX and across the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Harvey proved these areas are vulnerable to flooding, so they are engaging city, county, and federal decision-makers in the push for natural solutions, like oyster sea walls, to storm surge.

Thanks to Cruzan Rum’s ongoing commitment to the Island Spirit Fund, we can ensure steady support for these nonprofits and other continuing partners, even as COVID-19 creates uncertainty. We’re grateful for this long-term partnership!