Since 1992, the Bennie and Martha Benjamin Foundation has contributed $3 million towards enhancing health care services in the region. The VI consortium article reported the insights into the legacy of Bennie Benjamin, a songwriter from St. Croix. The Foundation executor said Benjamin’s will specified that royalties from his songs be allocated to health care improvements within the Virgin Islands. The latest donation is to Frederiksted Health Care which has received 3 state-of-the-art dental scanners to improve patient care. These advanced scanners, one for each of FHC’s dental sites, were generously provided by the Bennie and Martha Benjamin Foundation to enhance dental care services on St. Croix.
The article also shared the transformative effects of this donation as illustrated by the FHC.
Prior to receiving the scanners, the process of creating dentures, crowns, and bridges was lengthy and prone to errors, involving off-island shipping of molds which could take 6 to 8 weeks. Heat during shipping sometimes caused molds to shrink, resulting in ill-fitting final products and necessitating re-doing the entire process. With the new scanners, images are sent directly to the lab, ensuring precise results and reducing turnaround time to 10 days.
Great news coming out of St. Croix! Travel demand to the island has seen a significant surge in the post-pandemic period, and will soon welcome a new airline to consider when booking travel to the big island. Ultra-low fare carrier Frontier Airlines recently announced they will begin nonstop service from Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (STX) on St. Croix to Orlando International Airport (MCO) starting May 2024. They also announced that flights between St. Croix and San Juan will begin this June.
This addition now connects St. Croix to the vast network of flights from the mainland United States into San Juan and Orlando. “We’re thrilled to again announce new service from St. Croix,” said Josh Flyr, Vice President Network Operations and Design, Frontier Airlines. “It will help further support inbound tourism to St. Croix and, for the local community traveling stateside, Orlando is the most popular destination in the U.S. and offers a huge array of connecting options to destinations both within the U.S. and internationally.”
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Frontier Airlines operates more than 100 A320 family aircraft, serving approximately 120 destinations in the U.S., Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. Thanks to the use of these aircraft models, their seating configuration, and weight-saving initiatives, Frontier’s average of 43 percent fuel savings makes them the most fuel-efficient U.S. airline. On a mission to provide affordable travel across America, the airline offers the lowest fares; plus, children 14 years and younger are eligible to fly free through the airline’s DISCOUNT DEN® travel club on qualifying flights.
To celebrate this momentous occasion, Frontier Airlines is offering low fares starting at $69 and Premium Seat upgrades starting at $19. We’re thrilled to have this new option available, as it offers additional opportunities for visitors to our shores and provides our local community with a new cost-efficient option to visit family and friends in the mainland United States. For additional information on discounts and fares, visit the Frontier Airlines website at www.flyfrontier.com.
One of St. Croix’s most rewarding nonprofits is celebrating its 10th year in service to the community! Incorporated on January 24, 2014, Project Promise is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to nurturing the potential of young individuals in the territory. Founder & Executive Director Resa O’Reilly’s decade-long work with the area’s youth unveiled a strong need for a holistic program that would address many of the challenges that the island’s at-risk youth face. Like many communities around the world, the U.S. Virgin Islands has challenges that include economic disparities, educational gaps, and social issues. With her motivation and desire to make a difference in her community, O’Reilly launched Project Promise. With a Board of Directors, she created an organization that combines one-on-one mentoring with an educational, cultural, and vocational focus to safeguard a brighter future for at-risk youth in a safe, secure, and nurturing environment. Today, Project Promise stands as a testament to resilience, offering a wide range of programs and initiatives tailored to address these pressing concerns. Their goal is to identify the youth within the community who are experiencing adolescent hardships and may have a rough transition into adulthood.
Project Promise centers its programs around 7 programming pillars: personal wellness, financial literacy, career exploration, creative expression, cultural awareness, community service, and life skills. At the heart of Project Promise is the organization’s belief in the power of education. Through academic enrichment programs, tutoring sessions, and scholarship opportunities, the organization equips young minds with the tools they need to excel academically and pursue their aspirations. In addition to its focus on academics, Project Promise understands the importance of holistic development. Their flagship program, the Caterpillar Project, is a long-term program designed to make a significant difference in the lives of at-risk youth in St. Croix. The program includes mentoring, life skills workshops, community service, and counseling services to foster emotional well-being and personal growth among participants. Their newest program, Empowered Me, is a holistic enrichment program for young adults ages 10 to 18 that will equip them with the tools and attitudes they need to be winners in life with classes and activities centered around the program’s pillars. Other programs include:
The Buck Island Program, which offers every public school fifth-grade student the opportunity to visit and learn about the Buck Island Reef National Monument.
The Open Outdoors for Kids Program, which offers every public school fourth-grade student the opportunity to visit and learn about the Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve.
Throughout the year, Project Promise hosts various fundraisers to support its mission. The largest is the Havana Nights Silent Auction Fundraiser, held every February. Here attendees indulge in the sights and sounds of Cuba, including vintage cars, live cigar-rolling demonstrations, a domino tournament, salsa dancing, and delicious Cuban food. The grand prize of a roundtrip ticket to Cuba for two makes the event even more irresistible!
To learn more about Project Promise and the organization’s amazing impact on St. Croix’s underserved youth, visit their website at www.projectpromisevi.com.
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced last week that almost $4 million had been allocated to projects and programs in several U.S. territories, including the U.S. Virgin Islands as reported by the VI Consortium recently. This is aimed at combating climate change, restoring coastal areas, and eradicating invasive species. Read the full article here.
In the announcement on February 5, 2024 found here, the Dept of Interior said $971,000 will go to the U.S. Virgin Islands to support the development of an early detection and rapid response framework of invasive species and support surveys of plant communities that connect northern and southern shorelines across St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John. This is a component in the nearly $7 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to advance climate resilience and restore lands and waters through impactful ecosystem restoration work in the U.S. territories.
WTJX recently interviewed actor and musician Dan Aykroyd and discussed his new collaboration with St. Croix musicians to record a Virgin Islands tribute song called “Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Night.” The new song features the legendary actor’s “Blues Brothers” character, Elwood Blues.
It is a wonderful song and we want to share it! Click on this link to listen on Spotify. The link to Spotify will take you to the song, and ask you to Log in to your Spotify Account OR if you don’t have one, to sign up for a free Spotify Account.
In the WTJX interview, we learn more about local talent behind the song:
“The two famous performers teamed up with residents Kevin Motta, who also sings on the track, and Jeff Tareila, who wrote the music and produced the song in his studios in New Jersey and St. Croix. Other local musicians who play on the track include Kurt Schindler on guitar, Abbie Leung-Massicot on steel pans and a choir organized by Leslie Highfield-Carter. The drummer on the song is Chuck Treece, a member of various bands, including G. Love and Special Sauce. The collaborating artists for “Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Night” are known as VI Peeps.”
WTJX
Having purchased a home on St. Croix after visiting the island over the years, Aykroyd spoke of his love for the island. He said there is a warmth in the territory that he hasn’t found in many of the other parts of the Caribbean he has visited.
If you read our blog and follow us on social media, you know that we love St. Croix, it has been our home for 20 years! You can see what St. Croix is like through our lens with “Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Night” playing below:
St. Croix as the V.I. Trail Alliance, St. George Village Botanical Garden and V.I. Agriculture Department came together last week at Government House on St. Croix, to celebrate the award of a record $6.5 million in federal urban forestry grants meant to improve the island’s climate resiliency and food security. The St. Croix Source’s article this weekend reported that Agriculture Commissioner Louis Petersen said the money will allow the department, which partners with the V.I. Trail Alliance, to plant a variety of trees to increase food production but also to train people to nurture and maintain the green spaces, creating job opportunities and economic benefits to the community. Read the full article here.
The proposal for the grant included inspiring and programs and solutions for urban forestry that included using trees here is to offset food insecurity, educating youth and paid training for the workforce, facilitating projects geared to community education, workforce development in urban forestry, climate mitigation, forest conservation and food resilience, and more.
To commemorate the award of $6.5 million in urban forestry grants for the big island under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, members of the V.I. Trail Alliance, My Brother’s Workshop, the International Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico, and the Urban and Community Forestry Program of the U.S. Forest Service planted a mastic bully tree at the Estate Adventure Pavilion and Trail on Wednesday on St. Croix (photo above).
