No one would disagree that there are many projects and programs that need doing on St. John, but with limited human and financial resources, priorities need to be set. The St. John Community Foundation is conducting a short online survey to let everyone from fulltime residents to those with barely any connection to the island have their say.
“It’s to see what needs to be focused on,” Community Foundation Director Celia Kalousek said.
The deadline to fill out the survey is May 1. Those participating must indicate the extent of their involvement with St. John.
According to Kalousek, the topics selected are the result of meetings with members of about 45 non-profit agencies and community-based organizations who met to come up with the list.
“We have so many issues on the table. Our challenge now is to decide what to focus on first. We want our local organizations – and anyone else in the community who wants to be involved – to have a say,” Kalousek said.
While no funding is allocated for any of the topics, she said that once priorities are set, money will be sought. Additionally, the Community Foundation can link community organizations with needs to “angels,” people who want to donate cash or services to local organizations but need to know how and what the groups want.
The topics include youth development, health and human services, environmental and animal welfare, and community enrichment. Each topic has a list of priorities that survey takers are asked to rank in order of importance to them.
Under youth development, those taking the survey have a dozen issues to rank; youth non-sport programs, youth sports programs, renovation and upgrades to current parks and recreation facilities, a new recreation facility located mid-island, a new recreation facility in Coral Bay, business mentoring, job shadowing and mentorships, vocational school/works skills academy, transportation service to and from youth programs, move the school out of Cruz Bay, Coral Bay basketball court renovation, the development of a Creative Café, an after school program that includes instruction, workshop and events to showcase youth talent in all media, and V.I. history and cultural curriculum in schools.
The topics for health and human services include services for homeless people, adult education, senior assisted living and supportive services, community health insurance plan, affordable health care, cancer support for the uninsured, St. John Rescue building purchase and support, grief counseling/network, transitional housing, anti-violence awareness, victim advocates and safe house options, disability services, awareness, accommodations, and Social Security, alcohol, drug, substance abuse, and mental health counseling.
The topics for environmental health and animal welfare include a recycling plan, bike paths, a ban on plastic bags, a keep St. John beautiful plan, Animal Care Center of St. John facility upgrades and renovation, relocate Animal Care Center and create a compound of services, sustainable living fair, sustainable living center, community garden and food/farmers co-op, habitat restoration, preservation and education, wild animal rescue and control, and contained development.
Community enrichment topics cover community pavilion, downtown shuttle, Creative Café, extended library hours, town council/business association, V.I. history and cultural education events, city planning, sports clubs, and historical museum and archives.
Focusing on priorities will allow the island’s residents to continue what the Community Foundation started – bringing together various groups who separately were focusing on the same issue.
“We were duplicating efforts,” she said.
Kalousek said for example, the Island Green Living Association, Gifft Hill School, the Community Foundation, and a group of volunteers were all working on recycling issues. By combining those efforts, accomplishments will come more easily.
“These organizations are all ready to drop the pie mentality. I doesn’t matter who gets credit – just let’s make it happen,” she said.
Those who want to take the survey can by clicking here or find it at the Community Foundation’s website, www.sjcf.org. The link to the survey is at the top of the page.
