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ST.CROIX — On Saturday, the second annual VI Toy Drive event brought community members together to celebrate the holiday season with toys and gifts for the children at Queen Louise Home.

From 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Sunshine Mall, local artists and The Big Phat Morning Show personality DJ Slik performed for attendees and shoppers to bring awareness to the cause and support the newly formed VI Arts and Media Foundation. The organization strives to bring awareness to at-risk children in the Virgin Islands while highlighting talented artists in the community.

With Queen Louise Home almost at full capacity this holiday season, the nonprofit’s director, Dana Holtz, emphasized that gifts not under the Christmas tree make a huge difference as well. “We sincerely hope this event will continue to bring awareness that caring for children is much more than Christmas toys. So many community members are giving school supplies, toiletries and other much needed items for the children and it has been so helpful in making sure we can give them both the best Christmas and the best quality of living,” Ms. Holtz said.

The media was invited to the Queen Louise Home facility today, located at 71 Estate Concordia, for the presentation of toys and gifts collected at the second annual toy drive. There, DJ Slick spoke about the importance of caring for children in need during the holiday season. He also thanked the many local businesses and organization that made the drive possible.

About Queen Louise Home for Children

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.

Feature Image: From left to right: Tia Mason, DJ Slick and Sigorney Breighton at Queen Louise Home for Children facility today during a presentation of gifts event. (Credit: VIC)

Tags: Queen Louise Home for Children

Ernice Gilbert
I wear many hats, I suppose, but the one which fits me best would be journalism, second to that would be radio personality, thirdly singer/songwriter and down the line. I've been the Editor-In-Chief at my videogames website, Gamesthirst, for over 5 years, writing over 7,000 articles and more than 2 million words. I'm also very passionate about where I live, the United States Virgin Islands, and I'm intent on making it a better place by being resourceful and keeping our leaders honest. VI Consortium was birthed out of said desire, hopefully my efforts bear fruit. Reach me at [email protected].