CMES Irma Recovery Fund

My name is Viktor W. Brandtneris.  I am the Technical Dive Safety Officer at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) Center for Marine and Environmental Studies (CMES) on the island of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.

On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma swept through the northern US Virgin Islands as a category 5 storm, with sustained winds greater than 170mph.  Damage to St. Thomas and St. John has been extensive.  

UVI's CMES suffered near complete loss of the upper half of our facilities, including offices, classrooms, and numerous computers and data management equipment.  Current photos and ongoing progress can be found in the "Updates" section of this page.

While all faculty, staff, and students from our program are safe, rebuilding our facilities and research capacity will take a considerable amount of time, money, and effort.  This campaign seeks to raise funds in support of the recovery of our research capacity at UVI's CMES.  Monies will be spent replacing uninsured lost equipment, and repairing and rebuilding our facilities.

Communications are very difficult in the islands currently.  Efforts are being made to establish a tax-deductible account at UVI for larger donations to our recovery efforts.  If you would prefer to donate via this avenue, please contact me directly and I will be happy to facilitate. 

Thank you very much.

-Viktor