All Hands and Hearts Monthly Update - USVI (September)

USVI HURRICANE UPDATE - ST. THOMAS & ST. JOHN (September 2018)

DISASTER PROFILE On September 6, 2017 Hurricane Irma slammed into the US Virgin Islands as a Category 5 storm, with record wind speed of 200 mph. The islands suffered severe wind and flood damage, reducing many areas to rubble. Less than two weeks later, Hurricane Maria struck the islands on September 20 as a Category 4 storm and damaged several community facilities and individual homes. The storms have severely affected the community, tourism, and local economy.

OUR WORK Thanks to critical support from partners like Norwegian Cruise Lines and Island Spirit Fund, donors, local community, and volunteers from around the world, All Hands and Hearts - Smart Response has run an impactful program on St. Thomas since September 27th, 2017 and St. John since February 16th, 2018. We have responded to the community’s needs with debris removal, mucking and gutting, mold sanitization, and now full rebuilds for homes and schools.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES (RESPONSE AND RECOVERY PHASES) A year after the hurricanes, we not only muck/gut/sanitize, but are starting to rebuild. In homes, this means additional focus on interior repairs and on roofs. Volunteers are currently working on a home that the owner had built himself before it was devastated by the storm. He now works with our team to build back the home he knew. With ceilings/walls being installed, this home is almost complete. The Sunbeam Preschool in St. Thomas is now completely rebuilt and volunteers are constructing shelving units for the students to use. At Sunshine Bear Preschool, students continued to attend class under a damaged, leaky roof. During a recent school holiday, volunteers launched a 10-day blitz to repair the roof while the students were away, making back-to-school a little brighter!

A roof destroyed means devastation for the interior and any belongings in a home. With debris cleared out, volunteers focus on establishing a new, resilient roof to shelter the home beneath.

With walls and roof in place at the local public computer lab, volunteers begin the exciting task of installing and painting the ceiling! This move onto interior work marks the next step in life returning to normal after the storms.

OUR IMPACT

6,718

PEOPLE IMPACTED

1,268

JOBS COMPLETED

1,141

VOLUNTEERS

23,668

VOLUNTEER DAYS

Building Hope and Friendships We are fortunate to partner with My Brother’s Workshop, an organization dedicated to reaching those most in need by training at risk youth and helping families return to safe homes. Ray Rogers, who teaches with the organization tells us, “The whole island was affected, so the people our students are helping are their families, friends, and neighbors.”

Below, All volunteers work alongside My Brother’s Workshop students to give a community member a roof again.

OUR MISSION To effectively and efficiently address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters.

By listening to local people, and deploying a unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, we rebuild safe, resilient schools, homes and other community infrastructure.

OUR USVI PARTNERS

5 YEARS IN A ROW! Only 10% of charities have received at least 5 consecutive 4-star ratings. This means All Hands and Hearts outperforms most of the other 1.5 million charities in America in operational and financial efficiency.

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For additional information: Ethan C. Yake, Chief Partnership Officer ethan@allhandsandhearts.org or (518) 669-7147 www.allhandsandhearts.org