Changing the Lives of At-Risk Youth in St. Croix

As I look back on 2019, I am filled with gratitude at what Project Promise has been able to accomplish—thanks, mostly, to the continuing support from wonderful people like you. The impact that we are having on the pilot group of students participating in our flagship Caterpillar Project is just one small aspect of the effect we are having on our community and world! Through our various programs, we have connected with over 750 students on the island. This year over 300 fifth grade students participated in our Buck Island “Ticket to Ride” Program, and over 400 fourth grade students participated in our Salt River Bay “Open Outdoors for Kids” Program. For most of these students, these field trips were their first opportunity to learn about and visit these beautiful natural treasures.

One major highlight of our year was our Summer of Service, an amazing horizon-expanding three-week cross-country road trip across America. The Caterpillars and chaperones visited 18 cities in 14 states. Along the way we completed seven service projects, from rehabilitating gardens and packing meals for Meals on Wheels clients to cleaning animal pens at an animal shelter, helping at a homeless shelter and more. One service project that was particularly meaningful took place in Oklahoma City. The Caterpillars presented the $250 that they raised in June at the Walk for Awareness for World Refugee Day to a refugee family from Burundi. Our Service Trip Across America was a mind-blowing, life-changing experience for our Caterpillars and the people we met and impacted along the way!

Community service is at the heart of our program, and as a result, we focused on helping others all year long. Here on St. Croix the Caterpillars completed a wide variety of service projects. For example, in January we partnered with welding students from the St. Croix Career and Technical  Education Center to rehabilitate the playground at the Canegata Ballpark.  In  May, Project Promise donated a total of $1,500 to two public school libraries, which they will use to create reading corners designed to get kids interested in reading. These funds represented 10% of the proceeds from our 2018 Havana Nights fundraiser. In October, the Caterpillars were at it again! They used profits from making and selling beaded bracelets to pay the school insurance fee for 45 elementary school students, thereby enabling these at-risk students to participate in field trips for the entire school year. Project Promise also gifted children in Tanzania through our fourth annual Toys for Tanzania project.

Our Caterpillars are now in High School and it’s so hard to believe! In June, our Caterpillars graduated from Junior High School and as they continue to grow and blossom, Project Promise continues to support them with our regular programming. Throughout the year our group received homework assistance, weekly life coaching sessions, took part in yoga classes and more. Guest speakers from throughout the community-engaged the Caterpillars on a variety of topics. Career exploration activities, such as participating in a How to Build a Tech Career workshop, got the students thinking about their future. Monthly Cultural Awareness activities thought our Caterpillars our history and culture and have instilled a better sense of self.  Our Caterpillar Project takes a  holistic approach to empower our Caterpillars, and we see the difference it is making every day. 

Naturally, there is always more that we would like to be able to do. In 2020, we hope to secure the funding to renovate and start using our building in downtown Christiansted. We would love to be able to fund the $18 school insurance fee for every kid on Island whose family doesn’t have $18 to spare. After all, these are the kids who need field trips the most! And the list of things we would do if the funds were available goes on.

The future looks bright! In sum, Project Promise is fulfilling its mission of impacting lives and changing our community in the process. We are truly grateful for all of the opportunities we have had to make a positive difference in the world. With your help, we can do even more.