There are so many aspects of living on St John that bring me happiness and a sense of purpose - the beauty, weather, safety and, above all, the sense of community.  The St John Revolving Fund has been a great source of pride for me, the Advisory Committee and all involved. To be able to provide emotional and financial support for people in need in a timely manner is very gratifying.

Abigail (Abbie) is a lifelong resident of St. John.  She’s been employed by the Department of Human Services for the past 20 years as a Project Director for the division of Senior Citizen Affairs (SCA) Socio-Recreation department. She’s been married for 4 years and that union has produced six children and ten grandchildren, all of whom reside in the Virgin Islands, St Thomas district. Abigail is a board member of The Center for Independent Living, The Board of Education and an Advisory Committee member of St John Revolving Fund. She is also the St John ESF Six coordinator, responsible for mass feeding, sheltering and donations management in the event of a natural disaster.  She believes that great work is always done when you love what you’re doing!

Christie has always been a huge supporter of health and human services related non-profits on St. John.  She owns the iconic Windmill Bar in Susannaberg, St. John and regularly hosts fundraisers at the site and generously donates to support the well-being of our island community.  An RN since 1995 and chemo nurse since 2017, Christie is a natural caregiver and brings that warmth and kindness to the Advisory Committee of SJRF.  She also has a legal background and has been licensed to practice law in the state of Georgia since 1998.  In this busy lady's "spare" time, she continues to care for patients by filling in at St. Thomas Cancer Care and assisting with Island IV on St. John.  She began a program with SJRF that supplies funding for IV treatments for cancer patients.   

I am the newest advisory committee member of SJRF and was honored when asked to join.  I was inspired to work with SJRF for several reasons. First - I have been the recipient of this fund and know what an asset it is to our wonderful community. Secondly my husband and I have donated to causes associated with SJRF both privately and through our donations from Trivia and Cookies for Community- an ongoing means to provide funding to local non profits on St  John.  St John is the definition of what community should be. We all come together in times of need.  We embrace our differences and help people grow and celebrate our island family. St John is a wonderful culmination of history, growth, fellowship and love.

I was asked to join the St. John Revolving Fund Advisory Committee in 2021, and I do not regret my decision to do so. Working as Administrative Assistant at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church (OLMC) in Cruz Bay afforded me the opportunity to work with several non-profit organizations, including SJRF. I saw first-hand their work in the community assisting individuals in need. I'm glad to be part of SJRF to continue the work that was started. Although my work at OLMC keeps me busy, I am almost always willing to lend an ear or helping hand.

St John has been in my life since I was a little girl. My grandparents bought land on St John in 1961 and built a home here. They then gave some of their land to my parents and our family built a home just down the lane from my grandparents on Gifft Hill. I have been coming to St John ever since and have lived here full time since June 2018.
After the storms in 2017, I came down for 3 weeks to help put our place back together. I was crushed at the devastation that I saw but very inspired by the people that lived on St John. The pride and sense of community was so strong even though they had just
suffered through a nightmare. I was very moved by this community and decided to uproot myself to permanently live on St John.
Since moving to St John I have witnessed time and time again the generosity and caring of the people here. I knew I wanted to be a part of that! I was first introduced to the St John Revolving Fund through working with Cid at Connections. I was pretty impressed that our little island could make such an impact in people’s lives.
Over the 7 years that I have lived here I have donated my time for many Friends of the Park events and look forward to these events each year. I have also volunteered at the 8 Tuff Miles “Grapeful” station, the Breast Cancer Awareness events and Light up the
night! Most recently I helped coordinate the 1 st Annual Cookie bake off at the Windmill to raise funds for the St John Revolving Fund. Additionally, I was a team leader for the American Heart Association annual Heart Walk for five years and received an award for the top funds raised by an individual. All of these events have been fun and I love being able to give to our community.

When Cid asked me to help with the St. John Revolving Fund website, I didn't have to think twice!  This fund is SO incredibly important to our remote island community and it is high time the story of this remarkable organization be told!  I'm honored to be tasked with creating a timeline and sharing the story for this fund that supports Love City community members in their times of need.