Children were greeted by Santa and elves on Wednesday for the annual gift giveaway by the Tourism Department. Hosted at My Brother’s Workshop on St. Thomas, 200 children were provided with gifts for the holiday season!
Students ages 4 to 12 from the Bowsky Elementary School, Joseph Gomez Elementary School, and the V.I. Resource Center for the Disabled were in attendance for the event. Once they arrived by shuttle, courtesy of the School Bus Inc., they were excitedly greeted by dancers and a moko jumbie.
“This is a yearly event that we do to give back,” said Nicole George-Petersen. She is the Director of Visitor’s Experience for the Department of Tourism. “I have been working with the Department of Tourism for 18 years and this event has been going on since before I came.”
The Tourism Department collaborates with the Florida Cruise Association to host the event annually. This year, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, one of the world’s largest cruise ships, worked with the Tourism Department to bring the event to life.
Icon of the Seas’ hotel manager, Pietro Del Grande, said, “We are very excited to help. We have participated in other events in the Caribbean.”
When asked about their contribution, Del Grande said, “Our role is to come and support. We provided the Santa, elves, giving and distributing the gifts.”
Diamonds International also partnered with Tourism to conduct the event.
“In partnership with the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, we provided all the toys,” said Linda Meyer, a representative for Diamonds International. “We had the gifts sent in on Tropical and we wrapped 210 gifts for boys, girls, and special needs students.”
Home Depot, Coral World Ocean and Reef Initiative, the VI Children’s Museum, and Face Canvas were businesses that collaborated to provide items, educational, and recreational activities for the children. After collecting gifts from Santa, students were able to walk to different tables and see what each organization had to offer.
Amber McCammon at the VI Children’s Museum said she brought items to show students “how to use a compass to find Santa at the North Pole,” and activities that focused on symmetry, math, and science.
Once the gifting was completed, the students ate lunch at the workshop before heading back to school.
“They have hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and veggie burgers with a side of fries or chips,” said George-Petersen. Students also had a selection of water and assorted juices to choose from.
When asked if they would want to participate again in the future, representatives from Royal Caribbean and Diamonds International said yes.
“I do! The children are so animated and excited. We will keep it going,” Meyer said.
Del Grande, who has been working with Royal Caribbean for 17 years, also said he hopes to come back to St. Thomas for the event.
“I love St. Thomas. It’s a beautiful island,” he said.
“This is an event that we do to give back,” said George-Petersen.
This event was a collaborative effort for the Tourism Department. More information about the Tourism Department can be found on their website.
