{"id":33969,"date":"2016-01-24T10:53:36","date_gmt":"2016-01-24T10:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viconsortium.com\/?p=33969"},"modified":"2016-01-24T23:29:47","modified_gmt":"2016-01-24T23:29:47","slug":"project-promise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.viconsortium.com\/?p=33969","title":{"rendered":"St. Croix Organization Announces Major Initiative To Support 12 At-Risk Fifth Grade Lew Muckle Students Through College"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. CROIX — A local organization has committed to supporting in multiple ways 12 at-risk fifth grade students from the\u00a0Lew Muckle Elementary School here, staying with these students through tweflth grade and even into college. Above Resa O’Reilly, founder and program developer of Project Promise<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

The announcement was a major milestone for Ms. O’Reilly and the group’s board after a lot of effort. But as many who wind up creating meaningful ventures will attest to, success is almost always preceded by difficulties, and at an event held to officially announce the chosen school — as well as to thank sponsors for their generous support — Ms. O’Reilly revealed to an attentive audience parts of what led her to this point.<\/p>\n

“I remember when I was laid off from my job at the Department of Justice almost four years ago; I was devastated,” Ms. O’Reilly told The Consortium at the elegant event where the major announcement was made. “I had just gotten a new baby, and it was extremely difficult for me.” Ms. O’Reilly fought back tears while she spoke last night at the Great House in East End, an expansive dwelling sitting atop the highest point of a Estate Catherine’s Hope and overlooking almost a complete view of the this island.<\/p>\n

\"Resa<\/a>

Resa O’Reilly speaking at the Project Promise event.<\/p><\/div>\n

The affair’s guest list was a mix of high-caliber residents (Senators Neville James and Terrence Nelson were spotted, as well as Albert Bryan, Jr., former Department of Labor commissioner and his wife), and other attendees connected to Project Promise in some fashion. The food was prepared by a top local chef, and the courtyard decorations were intentionally intimate.<\/p>\n

Ms. O’Reilly recounted her difficult days — and years — following her dismissal at DOJ. However, Ms. O’Reilly said if she was not laid off , “I would have been stuck at the same job, and constantly wishing I had pursued my dreams,” she said while expressing that making a difference in the community, especially through a youth-support program, has been her lifelong purpose. “Everything is perspective,” she added, “it’s the choices we make after a difficult decision that will determine the outcome of our future.”<\/p>\n

The initiative, dubbed the Caterpillar Project, will see the twelve selected students meeting\u00a0with staffers after school on a daily basis through high school and into college. Overtime, the project aims to become a \u201csupport system\u201d for the youth, with close ties to adults who take a personal interest in their growth and development, according to a press kit provided to media on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

The approach, which Project Promise says is deliberately holistic, includes the following:<\/p>\n