Hurricane Recovery CBCC
Hurricane Recovery
CBCC’s Hurricane Recovery Services and Accomplishments – September 2018
On this anniversary, we all remember our feelings that day and in the days and weeks that followed. Each person, each family, had to make hard choices about the best ways to move forward. Recovery is on-going, time-consuming, and will be a long process. Too slow, and yet hopefully including major improvements and complete rebuilding of damaged infrastructure and people’s homes and businesses – so they will be better than they were before.
And a very special thank you to all of you who provided very needed financial support to the Coral Bay Community Council after the storms to keep us in full operation and make it possible for CBCC to help in St. John’s recovery.
Everyone is welcome at two get-togethers in Coral Bay today for the anniversary: Aqua Bistro Pig Roast beginning at 2 pm til gone and Potluck at Pickles 5 to 8 pm.
With love surrounding us in Coral Bay,
Thank you to everyone for your kindnesses after Irma,
Sharon Coldren
Volunteer President and Executive Director
Here is a link to their final project: https://www.univision.com/univision-news/world/life-in-the-eye-of-the-hurricane
If you want to jump straight to the portion about Coral Bay, visit: https://www.univision.com/univision-news/world/us-virgin-islands-free-wifi-networks-to-avoid-being-forgotten-by-the-united-states
Your contributions, both monetary and material, allowed Coral Bay Community Council to get Coral Bay up and running immediately after Irma. Our office became a central location for meetings, information, and communications, donations and distributions. Thanks to support from our members and the public, we were able to coordinate evacuations to St. Croix, link homeowners who needed help with laborers needing work, and host community events that lifted spirits during the holidays.
As a nonprofit community agency, we collaborated with relief groups including FEMA, VITEMA, The Bloomberg Group, Global DIRT, Love for Love City Foundation, St. John Community Foundation, Rotary, the Red Cross, and the Salvation Army. We are grateful to our landlord, Elizabeth Ford, for everything she did to accommodate CBCC and residents after the storms.
When phone, internet, and cellular communications went down after Hurricane Irma, CBCC became the voice of our community during the communications “void” in Coral Bay.
Using donated dollars, we purchased a satellite phone that we had in operation beginning two days after Hurricane Irma. More than 300 people who were cut off from cell service and the internet were able to make one-minute “I am okay” calls to friends and loved ones.
In the weeks following Hurricane Irma, 50-100 Coral Bay residents attended daily briefing meetings outside our office led by volunteer President of CBCC, Sharon Coldren. Our Office Manager, Michelle Bransom, was on island from October to December, providing continuous information and distribution five days a week.
As often as possible, we updated our website with current, pertinent relief information.
Individuals from around the world who love Coral Bay sought ways to contribute to our community’s recovery. As donations arrived from humanitarian organizations, travelers, and by mail from our members and other individuals, CBCC ran a contributed goods distribution center for survivors in Coral Bay. Donations included essentials like:
- Food and water
- Cleaning items
- Personal goods and toiletries like toothbrushes and diapers
- Solar lanterns, flashlights and batteries
- Drinking water filters
- Generators, inverters and gas cans
- Chainsaws and work gloves
- Pet food
Our CBCC members and friends from off-island overwhelmed us with hundreds of wrapped gifts for the holidays, which Santa distributed to children during the December 9th Mini Bizarre Bazaar. This program was organized by Dr. Bob De Bonis and Leslie McKibben and brought holiday cheer to children and families.
We set up a “Bring Some, Take Some“ station for clothing donations outside the FEMA Disaster Center on the ground floor of our building. We also organized a series of “Stuff Depots“ (a.k.a. Coral Bay K-Mart) that has allowed residents to sell, swap and buy things they need and have to give.
We would like to thank:
- The Red Cross
- Salvation Army
- FEMA and VITEMA
- Virgin Islands Relief Fund, Inc.
- The Bloomberg Group
- Love City Strong
- The Rotary Clubs of St. Thomas
- Kenny Chesney and the Love for Love City Foundation
- Virgin Islands – Relief, Recover, Rebuild (VI-R3)
- Many more…
On November 22nd, CBCC helped support Ken Yolman’s annual “Thankspigging” potluck dinner.
The Coral Bay Yacht Club was able to put on its annual regatta on November 24th. This year’s event was called the Notalotayachtaregatta (or “Not-a-Lotta-Yacht-a-Regatta”).
On December 9th, residents and visitors attended a mini version of the holiday Bizarre Bazaar and CBCC Annual Meeting. Traditionally a fundraiser for our organization, we offered this event as fee-free this year. We had a great turnout from residents and visiting workers who enjoyed music, food, art and crafts from local vendors, smiles and a visit from Santa.