April 25, 2009 – Virgin Islanders United Inc., a New York-based, non-profit, non-partisan, civic group dedicated to the U.S. Virgin Islands, is set to honor some of its founders – its founding mothers.
On Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10, V.I.U. will host The Mother’s Day Ball, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the organization, as well as honoring the “first ladies” and “founding mothers” of the civic organization that has helped to represent the U.S. Virgin Islands within the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) for the past decade. The dinner dance will be held from 6-11 p.m., at Maestro’s, located at 1703 Bronxdale Avenue, Bronx, New York. In addition to dinner, the event will feature an open-bar cocktail hour from 6-7 p.m. Break-Away Brass Band and D.J. Renaldo will provide music. Tickets are available from any member of V.I.U.
Honorees include: Aloma Host-Barnabas, Marjorie Macfarlane, Karen Nelson-Hughes, Anna Brannigan, Mariel Brannigan and Eleanor Newton.
“I am really proud to see how far this organization has come,” said Janet Parris, president of the organization. “We have worked hard and stayed true to our mantra, taking the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Caribbean to the next level of performance, by continuously striving to represent the U.S.V.I. in a positive and a professional manner within the Tri-State area. This Mother’s Day Ball is our way of saluting all of our V.I. and Caribbean Women in NYC while also acknowledging the hard work and efforts put forth by the ladies who helped create Virgin Islanders United and make it what it is today.”
V.I.U. was founded on Jan. 17, 1999. Assessing the thriving greater West-Indian community within New York, and seeing that there was insufficient or inconsistent representation of the Virgin Islands, eight members decided to address the issue through the formation of an innovative V.I. based organization. From the onset, the founders realized the need for the organization’s thrust to be primarily civic in nature. However, there was also a need for an equally strong social thrust, so the founders set out to ambitiously design an organization that would provide the best of both worlds, civic and social, and ultimately become a full-service organization for Virgin Islanders both at home and abroad.
Virgin Islanders United Inc. has won recognition for its many civic and social events including its signature event Caribbean Cultural Fest, which is an annual calypso music concert held on Labor Day Weekend in Harlem.
To purchase tickets for the Mother’s Day Ball or for more information regarding V.I.U., call (212) 713-5787, or visit the Web site at virginislandersunited.org.
