ST. CROIX — Molina Medicaid Solutions donated 28 sneakers to residents of the Queen Louise Home for Children early Tuesday morning at the nonprofit’s community center. Gathered quietly, the young recipients listened attentively as Luis A. Sylvester, executive account manager of Molina Medicaid Solutions, made his presentation. When the executive was through speaking, three young girls came up and recited a poem to show their gratitude.
Molina Medicaid Solutions, a fortune 500 company, has been serving the USVI by processing medicaid claims for the Department of Human Services since October, 2012, according to Mr. Sylvester. One of the values the company prides itself on is “giving back to the community where they do business,” Mr. Sylvester said.
The idea of giving back to the Virgin Islands’ community came when Mr. Sylvester heard about the shoe program in Maine.
“In Maine, Molina has been making a contribution of sneakers to the community for five years,” he said. This awareness prompted Mr. Sylvester to initiate a discussion with his colleague, Peter Gray, Molina’s executive account manager in Maine, who annually orders 500 sneakers from the New Balance factory. Mr. Sylvester indicated to Mr. Grey that he wanted to do something similar in the Virgin Islands, and as a result, this year an additional 200 sneakers were ordered.
Shoes donated to Queen Louise Home for Children. (Cruselda Roberts, VIC)
Once the sneakers arrived in the territory, Mr. Sylvester spoke with Governor Kenneth Mapp about his intentions, and the territory’s leader told him one that the residents of the Queen Louise Home should be the first set of youth to receive the sneakers. Mr. Sylvester took the governor’s advice and on Tuesday donated 28 pairs of sneakers to the children at the nonprofit organization.
The next donation of sneakers will be made in St.Thomas, which will be done in conjunction with the Lieutenant Governor’s Office. The event will take place at the Winston Raymo Center on August 27, where 80 sneakers will be donated, according to Mr. Sylvester. The following week a final presentation will be held on St. Croix, where the remaining sneakers will be donated to those in need in conjunction with the Boys & Girls Club (West), hopefully before school reopens, according to Mr. Sylvester. The executive concluded by stating that he hopes to make the donation an annual effort.
Also attending the presentation along with Mr. Sylvester, were two other representatives of Molina: Renee J. Rhymer, USVI manager, and Sherriffa Ahamad, site configurator.
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