Maria del Mar Rodríguez, vice president of Tropical Shipping Hispanola & USVI, and Karla Yhan, manager of Tropical Shipping St. Croix, delivered a $10,000 contribution to Queen Louise Home for Children on Wednesday.
The donation will assist recovery efforts at Queen Louise Home, which is still under repairs from damages sustained during Hurricane Maria. Saltchuk Resources Inc. and Tropical Shipping have been working to support recovery efforts at Lutheran Social Services of the Virgin Islands (LSSVI); they have also given back to a number of other community organizations in recent months.
Both Rodriguez and Yhan credited the inspiration for the gift to Jennifer Nugent-Hill, director of governmental and community affairs at Tropical Shipping, and Richard Berry. Berry is a longtime supporter of Queen Louise Home for Children and president of Leeward Islands Management Company. He has been an active supporter and advocate of the program for over 20 years. In 2018, he facilitated a donation from the Marion and John E. Anderson Foundation that brought $400,000 of support to at a crucial time in LSSVI’s recovery.
“After the storm, we were deeply concerned for both our programs and supporters because we knew that we were all hurting together. Richard has been a guardian angel for the children at Queen Louise Home, and his constant efforts to bring love to our doors has kept us motivated and hopeful,” said Junia John-Straker, chief executive officer of Lutheran Services.
Contributions fund the costs of operating the program 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Children first come to Queen Louise Home through the V.I. Department of Human Services as a result of abuse, neglect and/or displacement, or for respite care when needed. The program is a part of Lutheran Social Services of the Virgin Islands —the largest private child and family services agency in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
