Irma Relief — 420 To Center, USVI



We are asking for your help and support in raising money for local pub and eatery 420 to Center, St John, USVI in its efforts to recoup losses, rebuild and continue to support its community impacted by hurricane Irma and Maria. 

For over five years, 420 to Center has been a local landmark and beloved public house for the citizens and tourists of Cruz Bay. Its owner, our brother, Ryan Sharkey has built it into physical and cultural cornerstone of his community — It was where he found refuge when  hurricane Irma made landfall and where he has been, serving meals to those in need, since it passed. 

His efforts have been covered in the local media as 420 to Center has been designated a Red Cross center in the wake of the tragedy.

From the The Wall Street Journal: 
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/15/irma-destroys-st-john-but-420-to-center-keeping-spirits-high.html

"In Cruz Bay, the island's largest town, local restauranteur and Boston Red Sox fan Ryan stepped up to the Plate. In the first days after the storm, Mr. Sharkey and a crew of friends and castaways cooked donated food from their restaurants. His restaurant, called 420 to Center, a reference to the distance between home plate to the deep center field wall at Boston's Fenway park, served as many as 1,000 free meals a day after Imra."

From CNBC: 
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/15/irma-destroys-st-john-but-420-to-center-keeping-spirits-high.html

"Miraculously, at The Dugout at 420 to Center — one of the only restaurants out of 50 on the island left standing — spirits are high. Within just a few hours after the heavy winds ripped through the Caribbean on Sept. 6, 420 to Center owner Ryan Sharkey started cooking — and he hasn't stopped since. 

Using a generator and all of his own resources from his freezer, plus donations from other restaurants offering food that otherwise would have gone bad, he and his six employees have been cooking 600 meals a day for anyone who walks in."

From The Miami Herald: 
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article172841811.html

"At 420 to Center, a bar usually full of rum-soaked tourists, Ryan Sharkey had turned his open-air establishment, into a combination soup kitchen, homeless shelter and first aid center. He was in need of all three himself, having lost his house to the storm."


While many media accounts of the record-breaking storm have focused largely on Florida and Puerto Rico, comparably little attention has been paid the status of people in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), which were significantly impacted by both Huricane Irma and Huricane Maria. 

Your contributions will help Ryan in his efforts in the community, in rebuilding his establishment and in sustaining himself and his business through the difficult year ahead.

Anything helps.


With love,

Justin & Alex Sharkey,
Kennebunk, Me