A Look at What’s Happening at CFVI

In the October 2026 newsletter, we’re excited to share updates from across the islands!

Island Updates

• In Memoriam: Remembering Dolly Parton and the Impact of Her Imagination Libraries Dolly understood that putting a book in a child’s hands could open a lifetime of possibilities, a belief we take deeply to heart at CFVI.
• The 2026 Judith A. Towle Environmental Studies Fund will award up to $12,000 to support initiatives that address shared environmental concerns in the insular Caribbean.
• CFVI and its selected 2026 Great Reads from Great Places authors, Danica David and Mario Picayo, proudly represented the U.S. Virgin Islands at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.

Cultivating Change

• Dolly Parton Imagination Library The Virgin Islands Children’s Museum (VICM) expanded the reach of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Program across the U.S. Virgin Islands with support from CFVI’s Family Connection Fund.
• CMCArts Artist-in-Residence Program Programming included literacy, storytelling, sculpture, philosophy, creative writing, visual storytelling, and mixed media workshops led by professional visiting artists, delivering high-quality visual arts and humanities education to youth across St. Croix.
• Bringing History to Life with Family History The New England Historic Genealogical Society Inc. has successfully implemented the American Ancestors Family History Curriculum project in the U.S. Virgin Islands so far.

Inspiring Futures

CFVI Awards Nearly $300,000 to Support Humanities Programming The Humanities Council of the Virgin Islands has awarded grants to 13 organizations and individuals across the U.S. Virgin Islands working to preserve, share and celebrate the humanities and Caribbean culture.

• University of the Virgin Islands: Expanding Virgin Islands Humanities Access: Digital Strategies for Youth Participation and Cultural Preservation
• United Jazz Foundation
• Edney L. Freeman
• Geron Richards
• Simfoni Nibbs
• Virgin Islands Museum Civic & Cultural Centre St. Thomas, Inc.
• Dollar fo' Dollar Culture & History Committee, Inc.
• University of the Virgin Islands: The Virgin Islands Cultural Heritage Teaching Showcase
• Center for Educational Growth, Inc.
• Kennan Cooley
• Janet Cook-Rutnik
• Fireburn Heritage, Inc.
• The Children’s Museum of St. Croix, Inc.
• Our 2025 Annual Report: A Year in Review We invite you to celebrate the programs, donors and partnerships that made this past year possible.
• Humanities Conference This August, USVI Voices: Heritage, Harmony, and Horizons, our first ever humanities conference, was featured in the Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage magazine.

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Read the October 2026 newsletter