UVI employees and students will have the opportunity to make a positive difference in the community through two Community Service Days planned for Wednesday, July 29, on St. Croix and Thursday, July 30, on St. Thomas.
“We can all make the places and people around us better if we paused from our daily routines and plant some seeds of love, generosity and inspiration,” said UVI President David Hall.
On Wednesday, July 29, on St. Croix, volunteers are asked to paint certain areas of the Alexander Henderson Elementary School in Frederiksted. Earlier this year, Alexander Henderson Elementary was closed for at least 15 days due to a leaky roof. The school’s roof was damaged during two previous break-ins.
In addition, UVI has partnered with the Queen Louise Home for Children on a “Backpacks for Success” outreach project. Participants will have the opportunity to donate school and related supplies to children in need, in preparation for the upcoming school year. The Queen Louise Home for Children provides temporary placement in a family setting for children ages birth to 12 who have been the victims of abandonment, abuse or neglect. They also provide a home and 24-hour care to our most critically disabled and medically fragile children, most of which are wheelchair bound.
On Thursday July 30, on St. Thomas, UVI volunteers are asked to beautify a therapeutic serenity garden at the Family Resource Center, a non-profit organization that provides crisis intervention, counseling, emergency shelter, court advocacy, financial assistance and other services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and other crimes. The garden is designed for outdoor counseling sessions and to serve as a therapeutic area where victims of crime can engage in counseling sessions.
Additionally, UVI volunteers are asked to work in conjunction with My Brothers Workshop, to paint some classrooms at Addelita Cancryn Junior High School. My Brothers Workshop provides mentoring, counseling, education, and job training and placement, primarily through teaching woodworking and carpentry to at-risk and high-risk young people.
All of these activities are in fulfillment of an aspiration in our strategic plan, and a Board of Trustees approved goal, that requires UVI to use its resources to assist and improve a community based organization, said President Hall.
For more information contact Una Dyer, director of Presidential Operations, at (340) 693-1002 on St. Thomas and Nereida Washington, director of Campus Operations on the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix, at (340) 692-4161.