In response to requests from the community in Virgin Gorda, the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) will bring its signature youth programming to Virgin Gorda through a new YEP Virgin Gorda Youth Centre to be built by Unite BVI and community donors on land donated by the BVI Government. On March 23, community members, young people, and dignitaries will gather to break ground on the new YEP Youth Centre building.
In the past five years, YEP has implemented a series of pop-ups on Virgin Gorda that provided activities and learning opportunities in a safe environment for over 100 children. As demand from children and their parents grew, YEP began working with a variety of partners to establish a permanent presence in Virgin Gorda. In 2024, the BVI Government completed the donation of a parcel of Crown land on Handsome Bay near Ciboney School, and Saturday’s groundbreaking will represent the start of construction. Unite BVI continues to fundraise for completion of the facility and to cover programming costs for the first three years.
In addition to YEP’s youth programming, the new building will offer space to local non-profit community organizations for their activities. Unite BVI and YEP have engaged Edwin Adams Architects to design the building. An advisory group of BVI community members will support YEP in implementing the Youth Centre’s activities.
Stacy Mather, Executive Director of YEP explained, “YEP’s expansion to Virgin Gorda shows how much we can accomplish when we all work together. We are thrilled to bring programming and opportunities to more children in the BVI, as they are our most important investment. As our plans move forward, we will be organizing community meetings in Virgin Gorda to talk about our progress.”
“This project came about because we listened to the Virgin Gorda community and their request for more youth programmes,” explained Kim Takeuchi, Foundation Manager for Unite BVI. “We are so excited to bring together people, great ideas and resources for the benefit of young people and to support a safe space for the leaders of tomorrow.”
Established in 2005 in East End, YEP celebrates its 19th birthday in May 2024. During this time, YEP has provided over 8,000 children with enriching after-school and summer activities from robotics, coding, and computer literacy, to sports, cooking, and art classes – all within a safe and nurturing environment that encourages positive development and community service. YEP will hold another pop-up for Virgin Gorda.