Press Release
Contact: Roger Dewey: President, Deanna James: Chief Operations Officer
St. CROIX FOUNDATION CELEBRATES 22nd BIRTHDAY WITH LAUNCH OF BELIEVE CAMPAIGN
The St. Croix Foundation (SCF) is inviting the community to come out and celebrate their 22 years of leadership and service to the Virgin Islands Community on Thursday, September 27 in Sunday Market Square in downtown Christiansted. The Foundation’s Birthday celebration is from 5 PM to 8 PM, and will be held in conjunction with the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours networking get together.
This event heralds the official launch of the Foundation’s BELIEVE Campaign which seeks to inspire the entire Virgin Islands to “BELIEVE in our community” and to pull together through these challenging times. Roger Dewey, President of the Foundation, stated that “Despite the unprecedented economic upheaval facing the Territory, the St. Croix Foundation believes in the strength of our community. We believe in the future of St. Croix and the Virgin Islands.”
The BELIEVE Campaign is modeled after a highly successful movement launched 10 years ago in Baltimore Maryland, which sought to tackle the issue of drug violence by “awakening Baltimore’s truer sense of self — to tap the fire inside — and to call upon the power of that spirit to confront the violence of drugs and drug addiction that was killing 300 to 350 young men every year,” according to a Baltimore newspaper article.
The St. Croix Foundation’s BELIEVE Campaign, like Baltimore’s campaign, seeks to address many of the critical issues affecting our community by developing diverse partnerships and spearheading targeted initiatives that support a healthier community. For this campaign, the Foundation will be directing specific focus toward strategic programmatic areas such as community revitalization, public education reform and public safety.
Since the announcement of HOVENSA’s closure at the beginning of the year, the Foundation has hosted economic roundtables to hear from business owners and community stakeholders to assist in identifying solutions that move us forward. Building upon the feedback received from those roundtables, the Foundation’s BELIEVE Campaign aims to initiate several highly visible beautification projects beginning with Contentment Road, the entrance into Christiansted town. The Foundation is also urging businesses, residents and neighborhood associations to join them in their efforts by partnering together and to promote clean, safe neighborhoods.
Deanna James, the Foundation’s Chief Operations Officer explained that, “Our BELIEVE Campaign is about taking adversity and turning it into opportunity. It’s about believing in the inherent capacity of the human spirit to triumph over seemingly insurmountable challenges.” Today and into the future, the Foundation, through their BELIEVE Campaign, will be reaching out and working extensively with community partners to strengthen our islands’ economic and social structures.
The Foundation’s 22nd Birthday celebration, on the 27th in Sunday Market Square, is really a thank you to the entire Virgin Islands Community for all the ways that all of our partners have contributed and shown how they BELIEVE in the organization’s mission and vision for the Territory.
The Foundation would also like to thank the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce, the VI Police Department, Chef Ashley Williams who will prepare hors d’oeuvers, and Kiki and the Flaming Gypsies, Ballet Folklorico Dominicano, and the Pearl B. Larsen Quadrille Group for providing entertainment.
For more information on the St. Croix Foundation’s BELIEVE Campaign or their birthday celebration, please contact the St. Croix Foundation at 340-773-9898.