A Helping Hand Up for David and Kim

My brother, David (Davey Jo) Johanson moved from the Boston area (Winchester MA) to St Thomas 25+ years ago to live in paradise. It was there that he met and fell in love with Kim (Kimmie Jo) whom he married. David is a character; an avid Boston Fan who is consumed by sports facts, trivia, and team records. Chances are if you have been to St Thomas and had a drink, then you’ve met my brother. He has bartended there since his arrival and later became a bar/general manager at the Boston themed sports bar “Sibs on the Mountain”. He even showed Boston news and local TV programming along with all the games. Kim, who was raised on the island by her family from Denmark, became the manager for the Oceana Club. They’ve always worked hard, never asking for a hand out. They were renting a home in Caret Bay with a handshake deal to buy it from the owner (yes, my brother is old school, his word is his bond). He started putting his time, energy, money and heart into the home with upgrades and renovations including traveling to Florida 6 months ago to buy and ship new furniture and accessories for the entire home. And then came Hurricane Irma. Irma was scheduled to go north of the island but shifted and changed paths. David boarded up the house and did everything to secure it. He, Kim and their 3 rescue cats took refuge in the bathroom when the storm hit. The storm came in as a CAT 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 220 mph. David was standing in ankle deep water keeping his weight against the bathroom door to keep it from blowing in for 6 hours. The house was coming apart around them. The storm took hours to blow through and when it subsided, the only part of the house left was the 4 bathroom walls around them, and a partial bathroom ceiling. Their home and all their possessions were gone. The property was without insurance, pending the completion of the sale. Sibs on the Mountain and The Oceana Club were both destroyed leaving them without income. Their St. Thomas bank was destroyed. The main bank branch, located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was just wiped out by Hurricane Maria. David and Kim have never, and would never, look for a hand out. I’m looking to give them “A helping hand up”. St Thomas is a vacation destination and will take years to get back to business as usual. This Go Fund Me will help them to relocate and give them time to find a new home and new employment. Every donation counts whether it be $5, $50 or $500 or more.
Kim Johanson is the benficiary of the fund, so rest assured that David and Kim will receive all of the funds raised.