FREDERIKSTED – Between sporadic showers on Thursday, members of the Gerber family painted a colorful picket fence at Queen Louise Home for Children.
The fence is one of the first of many repairs needed to the playground area after Hurricane Maria dismantled much of the play equipment.
Cindy Gerber, Board member and friend of Lutheran Social Services of the Virgin Islands, motivated her family to donate time from their annual vacation to projects in the community.
“My wife was the inspiration for this whole project and the rest of the family was gung-ho!” said Murry Gerber. “The younger ones are very community minded and it’s exciting to see them take another opportunity to give back.”
The eighteen family members, who hail from California, Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Scotland, spent Thursday completing projects at Queen Louise Home for Children and Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts.
The Gerbers have been avid supporters of Queen Louise Home for Children. Murry and Cindy Gerber sponsored the construction of the campus bike path in 2015, were annual sponsors of the now canceled Golf Classic and Gala and continue to support Queen Louise through their Foundation, donating over $150,000 since 2012.
Queen Louise Home for Children is a safe haven and 24-hour residential foster care program for children in the Virgin Islands who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected, and/or have severe disabilities. The program provides temporary placement in a family setting where children receive unconditional love and support, as well as tutoring, recreational activities, guidance in overall skill development and access to medical support. Established on St. Croix in 1904, Queen Louise Home is a program of Lutheran Social Services of the Virgin Islands (LSSVI) – the largest private, nonprofit social services agency in the US Virgin Islands. For more information or to donate to Queen Louise Home for Children or other LSSVI programs, please visit www.lssvi.org.