Very Special Group Currently on Island

There is a very special group currently on island, and if you happen to bump into them this this, we ask you show them some St. John love.

For the fifth year, Little Pink Houses of Hope has brought couples down to St. John for a week-long retreat. The mission of Little Pink is to promote breast cancer recovery by offering opportunities for survivors and their caregivers to reconnect and celebrate life. Eight couples are currently on island, in addition to Little Pink’s president and founder. The couples come from all over the United States and the average age of the survivors is 38.

One of the nicest parts of Little Pink’s annual visit is how much love and support the community shows this group of men and women. For example, all of their housing has been donated both by Grande Bay and some of its private owners. Activities and food throughout the week have also been donated by numerous local business.

The group arrived on Sunday and had a welcome reception sponsored by Drink. On Monday, they went kayaking courtesy of Arawak, and had lunch and dinner provided by Dog House Pub and The Tap Room.

On Tuesday, they did a little snorkeling with equipment provided by Just Beach and lunch courtesy of Sam & Jack’s. Later in the day, they hopped aboard Kekoa for a sunset sail and then had dinner on the beach courtesy of Joe’s Rum Hut.

The women are getting private massages today donated by several therapists on island, including Mae Agna, while the men went out on a private charter. Tonight several restaurants will host the couples for dinner including ZoZo’s, La Tapa, Extra Virgin, Ocean Grill, Waterfront Bistro, The Terrace and Rhumb Lines.

High Tide will host the group tomorrow after they get portraits courtesy of STJ Creative Photography.

They round out the week with a day at Villa Marea, one of the island’s most luxurious villas, and then dinner at The Beach Bar.

“It’s really an amazing week because, as a breast cancer survivor, the women typically have the ability to find each other … but really the caregivers, I feel that this is such an important experience for them because they end up with a very, very tight support group too,” said Jeanine Patten-Coble, President and Founder of Little Pink. “And yes, the mountains are beautiful here; the water is beautiful. But it really, truly it’s the beauty of the people of the island that makes this so special.”

So a big thank you to all of the businesses who have supported this group, and a HUGE thank you to Tim Hanley of The Tap Room for being Little Pink’s on-island coordinator.

“He has a heart for this that I cannot even put into words,” Jeannine said of Tim.