Cane Bay Cares Sponsors 2022 USVI Emancipation Day Fort-to-Fort ‘Walk to Freedom’
July 3, 2022 — Walking from Christiansted to Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands is no easy feat, but this USVI July 3rd tradition is more than a physical challenge — it’s a symbol of the resilience that led to freedom.
The annual Emancipation Day Fort-to-Fort “Walk to Freedom” retraces the steps of 9,000 enslaved Africans who marched from Christiansted to Frederiksted on July 3, 1848 to demand their freedom from the Danish government.
Nearly two centuries later, Cane Bay Partners VI and its philanthropic arm Cane Bay Cares were proud to celebrate this historic moment by sponsoring and participating in the freedom walk.
The 15.6-mile trek started just before dawn on Sunday, July 3 at Fort Christiansvaern in Christiansted and took participants down the Queen Mary Highway to a finish at Fort Frederik in Frederiksted. The walk began and ended with rattling the chains barring the entrance of each fort — another symbolic act that signifies breaking free from bondage. Along the way, a live DJ helped keep spirits high with popular Caribbean and African music. VI Agriculture Commissioner Terrence “Positive” Nelson, the event’s coordinator, also brought high-energy commentary along the way.
There were sore muscles and a few blisters at the end, but we consider it a privilege to have walked beside a new generation of resilient Virgin Islanders. Cheers to 174 years of freedom in the USVI!
Cane Bay Cares is a service initiative of St. Croix-based Cane Bay Partners VI, LLLP. Cane Bay Cares was established after three strong hurricanes, including two Category 5 storms, Irma and Maria, caused much damage to St. Croix during September 2017. The initiative has a goal of providing relief to the citizens of St. Croix. To make this possible, we have partnered with St. Croix Foundation, which is a 501c3 nonprofit that was established in 1990. All donations to Cane Bay Cares are donations to St. Croix Foundation and are 100% tax deductible.
Cane Bay Partners VI, LLLP was formed in June 2009 and founded by internationally experienced business executives with many years of experience in the financial services industry. Focusing our efforts primarily in the financial services industry, our management consulting practice specializes in providing services to clients in need of sophisticated risk management models, debt collections organizations which require liquidation models and analytics, and portfolio management companies desiring a variety of services.
Since 1990, St. Croix Foundation for Community Development has been advancing holistic community development as a pathway to economic prosperity, self-sufficiency, and sustainability. Established in the wake of Hurricane Hugo, today the Foundation is one of the premier place-based philanthropic leaders in the Virgin Islands. Having served as the conduit of over $37 million private and public sector dollars invested into the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Foundation’s impact has netted national recognition in almost every priority area – from economic development and community revitalization to public health, education reform, and nonprofit development. Our mission is to encourage greater philanthropic activity, to marshal resources, and to act as a catalyst to benefit the people of the Virgin Islands.