March 1, 2018 - For our 2018 Shade Project, we chose to support a special community, St. John in the US Virgin Islands. The island was one of many ravaged by Hurricane Irma on September 7th and then again two weeks later by Hurricane Maria. Both were Category 5 hurricanes, with Irma’s winds exceeding 185 mph with unheard of gusts of over 225 mph, making it one of the worst storms in history to hit the Caribbean basin. ShadeScapes donated 30 umbrellas to restaurants and schools on the island, and was able to provide another 20 umbrellas by donating 25% of all sales from our Gift of Shade offering in 2018 back to the project. Your purchase makes a difference to the people of St. John.
Join us in our effort to bring 20 more umbrellas to St. John
When we began this project, we committed to donating 30 umbrellas to restaurants and schools on the island, but when our CEO, Jo Moniak Edmondson, visited in early December 2017, she found the need for shade to be much greater. To fund bringing an additional 20 umbrellas, we decided to donate 25% of our Gift of Shade sales and 5% of our ShadeScapes Americas profits back to the project for the remainder of 2018. In addition, we’ve given our supporters the opportunity to purchase an umbrella on behalf of a St. John business or non-profit.
Here's how to contribute:
Shop our OUTLET & GIVE
Email us at stjohnshadeproject@shadescapesusa.com if you would like to contribute in any other way. We’d love to hear from you!
A Message from our CEO
“As a small business owner and a St John homeowner for almost 30 years, I wanted to find a way my company could help support the long-term renewal and beautification of the island. We decided the best way we could help make the island become more livable and attractive as visitors begin returning was to donate shade. Installing our beautiful umbrellas around the island is now providing the shade needed at the restaurants where St. Johnian’s and tourists gather – and making the island feel more attractive and more livable both during and after the rebuild stage.”
The restaurants are vital to the island’s tourism and the owners and their staff are all ready to welcome back visitors to this lovely island. These small businesses lost so much during the storms. Donating shade umbrellas has been a rewarding experience for our St. John Shade Project Team. We are thrilled to find our way of contributing and hope many of you will join us in our efforts.
Even with the difficulties that come after a very major hurricane, ST JOHN IS NOW OPEN for business and ready for more visitors! If you are looking for a rewarding “volunteer vacation”, where you can enjoy the pristine beaches, sit under some really beautiful umbrellas at local restaurants and volunteer to help. You will make a lot of wonderful people on this tiny yet resilient US Virgin Island happy if you do!
Jo Moniak Edmondson, CEO ShadeScapes Americas
St. John Bordeaux Mountain homeowner since 1986
St. John Shade Project Recipients
ShadeScapes focused on installing donated umbrellas at restaurants to make it easy for them to quickly provide more shade to their staff and customers. We loved getting to know these local businesses, who are the backbone of the tourism economy. We also donated to the schools. Keep a watch on our BLOG posts, as we continue to profile each of the St. John Shade Project recipients:
CORAL BAY RECIPIENTS
CRUZ BAY RECIPIENTS
JOST VAN DYKE RECIPIENTS