Our Bio
VincyCares, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that resulted from an encounter between Mrs. Dahlia-Ann Howard-Lewis and an eleven-year-old girl selling sorrel in Kingstown, St. Vincent, early one morning. The encounter had a profound impact on Mrs. Howard-Lewis and Mr. Kenley ‘Shortmus’ John who initiated a Facebook conversation, eventually leading to the formation of VincyCares, Inc. We are celebrating our 14th year.
VincyCares, Inc. is currently led by President, Gillian Arthur. The organization is spearheaded by a group of dedicated Vincentians based in the United States of America, with a facilitation group operating in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, led by Mrs. Howard-Lewis.
Since its formation in November 2009, all fifty-nine (59) primary schools in St. Vincent and the Grenadines received school supplies collected at drives held in New York City. In May 2011, VincyCares, Inc. presented its first full, five-year secondary school scholarship to the young lady who inspired the formation of the organization, Victoria Sutherland. The Victoria Sutherland Scholarship Fund is designed to assist children who exhibit potential, be it in academics, sports or the arts, but who lack financial resources to achieve as much as possible from their secondary education. Victoria struggled through secondary school but realized that she had a passion for cooking which led her to enroll at the Georgetown Technical Institute to pursue a course in Food, Nutrition and Home Management. Ms. Sutherland successfully completed that course and graduated on June 29th, 2016.
Over the last 13 years VincyCares, Inc. partnered with donors to provide scholarships at both secondary and tertiary levels. In 2022, we saw two students graduate from The St. Vincent Girls’ High School and The St. Vincent Grammar School respectively, both are now attending the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College. We also had two students graduate from The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College, one of which was among the first recipients to be awarded a VincyCares scholarship donated by Mrs. Chris Matthews-Child in memory of her sister Magdelene Matthews. Niesha Richards, Valedictorian of her graduating class of 2022, will continue her academic journey with a bursary from the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to attend University.
In July 2023, eight students graduated from The St. Vincent Girls’ High School, The St. Vincent Grammar School and The Sandy Bay Secondary School with exceptional performances. Zomara Lewis, of the Sandy Bay Secondary School received nine (9) academic awards, and was the Valedictorian of her graduating class. We thank Marsha-Ann Boyea for sponsoring her scholarship. Shazia Browne, of The St. Vincent Girls’ High School walked away with seven (7) awards. We thank Mrs. Natalie Greaves-Peters for sponsoring Shazia’s scholarship.
Looking forward to the 2023/2024 Academic year, we welcomed six new secondary school students to our family on July 13, 2023, which totals forty-eight scholarships from the organization’s inception. Secondary school scholarships are for five years and can be donated in memory of a loved one or to a child from the donor’s Alma Mater. Our students come from all areas of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and attend various secondary schools throughout the country, which currently include The St. Vincent Girls’ High School, The St. Vincent Grammar School, Bishop’s College Kingstown, The Union Island Secondary School, The Canouan Secondary School, The Thomas Saunders Secondary School, The Sandy Bay Secondary School, and The Petit Bordel Secondary School.
We are eternally grateful to our scholarship donors, some of whom are donating scholarships a third time around, for assisting us in helping to educating the children of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. If interested in donating a scholarship, please feel free to contact any VincyCares member, or send an email to vincycares@gmail.com.
Although the main focus of VincyCares, Inc. is to cater to the needs of less fortunate children in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, special efforts have been made to assist during times of need. In response to the Haitian Earthquake of 2010, a drive was organized and over 30 barrels of supplies were shipped to Haiti. Also in 2010, VincyCares, Inc. donated supplies to the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to assist children displaced by Hurricane Tomas. In 2014, school supplies were diverted to areas affected by the December 2013 floods in St. Vincent. In response to tropical storm Erika impacting Dominica in August 2015, the Board of Directors decided to donate all of the school supplies collected at the annual Taswya Cambridge Sr. Drive to that island. Officials from the Dominican Consulate were present at the drive to officially receive the supplies. In 2017, school supplies were again diverted to Dominica in response to hurricane Maria. VincyCares, Inc. also came to the aid of the people of the Bahamas in offering assistance in raising much needed funds resulting from the hurricane disaster in 2019. In September 2020, the organization donated 120 touch-less thermometers to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ministry of Education, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In response to the April 2021 volcanic eruption, VincyCares, Inc. partnered with the St.Vincent and the Grenadines Relief Committee in New York to purchase and pack emergency supplies to support our island during this difficult time. In addition, in September 2021, we purchased and packed school supplies to be shipped to the schools most affected by the eruption. These were distributed to the schools in May 2022.
We look forward to the continued support of generous persons in the diaspora so that we can continue supporting deserving students in furthering their education and in expanding our charitable initiatives. Together We Can!
