St. Thomas Hurricane Relief
Rebella recently teamed up with All Hands and Hearts on St. John Island of the USVI. We did this to help promote our continued rebuilding efforts one year after Hurricane Irma and Maria devastated the islands of Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Bahamas, the United States Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, and even several parts of Spain, France, and the United Kingdom.
Jake Petersen and myself spent a day working with the All Hands and Hearts’ team members and organization volunteers, and we were joined by a wide array of influencers including Emily Tanner, Shelby Bay, Arianna Hicks, Kelly Lauren, Taylor Bryant, Paige Lorentzen, Arnie Watkins, Pierson Oglesby, Nash Hagen, and Evan Paterakis. Together, we have the ability to reach over 2 million followers across all social media accounts.
As soon as we got out there, everyone got right to work! Our amazing group spent time demoing a storm-damaged home high in the cliffs of St. John in the Virgin Islands. Together, Rebella and All Hands and Hearts were able to scrap an entire dumpster’s worth of wood and debris from the home. We fire-lined up a steep hill alongside the cliff, moving the debris from the home atop to the dumpster below. It made for the easiest route to get things cleaned up.
Though it’s been a year since the hurricanes originally hit, you can still clearly see the devastation all across the island. While the island is incredibly beautiful, I couldn’t help but feel sad when I looked beyond the glimmer. There are dilapidated boats along the marinas, battered and broken homes, and businesses that have yet to reopen their doors. The island has been ravaged and rising up from this has proven to be troublesome for St. John, as well as other locations impacted by this tragic disaster.
It was the goal of Rebella to create awareness among the All Hands and Hearts volunteer program in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The hope was to increase volunteer applicants and push the monetary donations that fund these programs. There are countless opportunities to get involved with All Hands and Hearts volunteer programs across the world. We merely want to educate and highlight these opportunities to our audience because the more people who know about these opportunities, the better chance these places have to get back on their feet quickly.
The Rebella influencers on hand were encouraged to document the work throughout the day and post across their social media accounts. This wasn’t just about showing the world that we were doing a good deed. It was about raising awareness. With so many followers, there’s a good chance some people will want to do their part in helping. Even if it isn’t coming to the damaged area and getting your hands dirty, it’s worth finding some way to help.
In the end, this turned out to be a tremendous success. We managed to push the content out in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers, which is incredible! We look forward to future projects and a continued partnership with the amazing organization and our influencers. We are far from done!