Good Morning, Good Morning! It’s that time of year again folks! Earth Day is right around the corner. And, in their fourth annual Earth Month Fundraiser, Island Green Living is offering you the opportunity to help them “crush plastic” and advance sustainability on St. John while also getting a chance to win an incredible vacation for two to visit us here in Love City. This year’s vacation package has it ALL: Lodging, airfare vouchers, Jeep rental, dining, shopping, excursions AND voluntourism opportunities. In keeping with this year’s Earth Day theme of “PLANET vs. PLASTIC,” as an entrant in Island Green Living’s “Love City Vacation for Two” raffle you will make strides towards winning the battle against plastics pollution on island. While also putting yourself in the running for an amazing seven-night trip to St. John, valued at $11,000!
Did you know that Island Green Living is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year? For TWENTY years, this amazing organization has been taking strides towards transforming the USVI into a “net zero waste, carbon-neutral territory in order to protect the environment, support food security and ensure the community’s health, welfare and economic security.” With the mantra “Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!” Island Green, fueled by its dedicated board, employees and volunteers, has taken ambitious steps towards recycling programs, reef-safe sunscreen initiatives, plastic bag and straw bans and sustainability awareness campaigns. In short, they have been spearheading programs that aim to “green” the USVI, starting with St. John.
To date, Island Green has accomplished these incredible milestones:
- More than 3.1 million aluminum cans recycled.
- Nearly 70,000 pounds of ocean-bound plastics recycled.
- Nearly one million pounds of building & household material diverted from the landfill via our ReSource Depot thrift store.
While AVOIDING single-use plastics at all costs is the unwavering stance of Island Green Living, a the plastics recycling program is incredibly important here on St. John in order to mitigate the harmful chemicals cause by plastics out of our ocean. And, let me remind you all, the plastic recycling program didn’t even launch until February of 2022. That’s 70,000 POUNDS of plastic that has been diverted from our island landfills in just over two years…Think for a moment about how lightweight plastic is. That’s A LOT volume wise! The amount of communication, organization, public outreach and human resources that went into accomplishing this feat in such a short time is admirable and ambitious. What an amazing accomplishment (insert applause here 😉 ).
As you can guess, programs like these, specifically the recycling program, come with a hefty price tag. And although Island Green has some amazing partners that help carry the financial burden of shipping and processing the “bound for recycling” materials, fundraisers like these ones are what keep these incredibly important programs moving forward. And St. John needs them to move forward. So, we need you to buy some raffle tickets and try your hand at winning a trip to come visit us!
About that prize package…As the winner of this year’s Island Green Earth Month Raffle, you’ll enjoy an all-inclusive trip for two to Love City with the following offerings:
- Lodging: A seven-night stay at Gallows Point Resort in a spacious Ocean View Suite with access to the amazing resort amenities. And you’ll enjoy ocean access, incredible sea and sunset views, just a 5-minute stroll from St. John’s main town of Cruz Bay.
- Travel: An airfare voucher, good for up to $1,000, sponsored by the US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism
- Transportation: A one-week Jeep rental, compliments of Seashell Vacations. The combination of Gallows Point in-town location and free parking with your Jeep means you can make way to any beach or trail you want and avoid parking in town when you head to dinner later!
- Fun on the Water: A full Day “Pirate’s Booty” USVI boat day, compliments of Flyaway Charters. This seven-hour charter is customized to your preferences, including off-the-beaten-path TREASURES and great snorkeling options.
- Dining: $200 at Dave and Jerry’s Island Steakhouse, $100 at The Easterly, $100 at St. John Provisions, $100 at Northshore Deli, $75 at The Terrace, $75 at Skinny Legs, and $50 at Joe’s Rum Hut.
- Artwork: Local artist Katia Moltisanti has graciously donated “Seagrapes View,” a 12 x 12-inch limited edition giclee on canvas inspired by the surrounding beauty of St. John. Valued at $255.
- Shopping: $100 to spend at Mumbo Jumbo and $50 to spend at Just Beach
- Keeping it Green: A supply of Caribbean Sol reef-safe sunscreen, compliant with the USVI sunscreen ban and a voluntourism opportunity & private tour at Island Green Living’s ReSource Depot.
Ok, so you’ve got your airfare, lodging, rental car, shopping, dining, boat day AND sunscreen covered. Folks, this is 90% of the financial battle towards an amazing week on St. John! So, are you ready to snag some raffle tickets? Good, let’s go!
You can easily ENTER TO WIN and get more information on the raffle online on the organization’s website. Tickets are $50 each, six for $250 or 25 for $1000. Tickets are for sale throughout the month of April (until April 30) and the drawing will take place on May 4 at 1PM AST via Island Green Living’s Facebook page.
In honor of Earth Day and this incredible non-profit that strives to keep this island sustainable and beautiful for years to come, we will be covering information about their abundance of inventive programs over the next few weeks. I hope you will tune in to find out more about our on island recycling, thrift store and sunscreen initiatives and the unique approach Island Green Living has taken to tackling these important issues. But, for now, grab some raffle tickets in support of these essential programs 🙂 Good luck to you all!