In 2017 Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria hit the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, devastating our homes and causing catastrophic damage to our communities. Once the winds died down and the true extent of the damage was clear, residents banded together to help in any way they could. They decided the best way they could do that was in aiding residents-in-need in their day-to-day lives while the government and relief efforts concentrated on the largest and most pressing issues. Thus Project Shine was born, to provide a ray of hope to residents get back to a semblance of normalcy in their day-to-day lives. Project Shine provided generators for families and residents who needed electricity, tarps for broken and leaking roofs, additional household supplies, and labor to help clean and repair homes and streets.

Project Shine is focused on helping the community in a way that helps create community. When our homes and lives are turned upside down, communities and people helping people through selfless actions are what heals a place after disaster. So in addition to helping individuals, Project Shine provides resources to community leaders and community spaces to provide help that mends the connections between people.

The islands are our homes not only just from the virtue of the beautiful scenery we get to enjoy everyday, but also the people who live and work on the island. Our friends, neighbors, coworkers and more make up so much of what makes the Virgin Islands special, and so Project Shine exists as a way to help those in our communities, but also to help the fabric of those communities as well. And Project Shine will continue to work hard and exist as a way to provide aid and relief to those communties adversely affected by disaster throughout the Caribbean.