Donor Gives $150,000 Donation To My Brother’s Workshop, Will Match Up To $50,000 All February

My Brother’s Workshop received wonderful news this January, a release the nonprofit issued Monday says. An angel donor, who gave the first seed money to open the MBW Café and Bakery in downtown Charlotte Amalie and has supported the nonprofit organization ever since, gave again for 2019.

According to the release, with the very generous gift of $150,000, My Brother’s Workshop will continue their work with young people in the territory. The organization, known for its vocational training, has seen incredible growth in the past four years. What started with 4 students in 2007, now sees around 150 each year. Through their holistic approach that includes on-­the-­job training, mentoring, counseling, education, and job placement, MBW is seeking to end youth crime and violence in the USVI, the release said.

The angel donor, realizing that every extra dollar means more students being able to attend MBW, wanted to challenge the community to give as well. With that in mind, the donor pledged to match all donations for February up to $50,000. According to the release, because February is the month of love, the donor wanted to encourage monthly donors as well by allowing the yearly amount to be matched when donors commit to monthly giving. For example, if a donor signs up to give $25 a month, $300 counts towards the match instead of just $25.

“We are completely overwhelmed by the generosity of these amazing people. They continue to see the great work the organization is doing with our young people and in the community,” said Jenny Hawkes, MBW executive director, “And now, with this match, we are extremely excited to work hard to raise that amount this month. The more money we raise, the more young people can come to our program. MBW is truly changing lives, one person at a time.”

“People can donate through our Facebook pages My Brother’s Workshop or MBW Café and Bakery or through this link: https://www.classy.org/campaign/double-­‐the-­‐love/c220264,” said Chrystie Payne MBW communications and donor relations manager. “Through our easy to use platform, donors can give an one time gift or choose to give monthly. Never has it been so easy to help others.”

My Brother’s Workshop will be launching fun campaigns this February that will include prizes and games to help keep the giving momentum, according to the release. “We are going to have two major goals to hit this month. When we hit the halfway goal, our Executive Director will have to do a challenge that will be chosen online. We will also have a similar event when we hit the goal of $50,000! Please follow us on our social media pages to find all the details and help us ‘double the love’ this month,”explained Ms. Payne.