Chirag ‘Cheech’ Vyas and Kevin
Chipman, two young entrepreneurs living in St John but not quite making ends
meet yet, donated all of the beer and soda for ‘One Magical Evening’, our first
HFL fundraising event on St John USVI. And that should tell you all you need to
know about Cheech and Kevin, but there’s more…
UVM college roommates, Cheech went
on to work for NASA in the space program and Kevin worked as a physical
therapist in an acute care Boston hospital. Anxious to forge their own way
while still young and unencumbered, they bought one-way tickets to St John.
They struggled to find their niche but their friendly, helpful manner brought
them numerous friends, HFL among them. They encountered endless speed bumps
along the way but journeyed from serving beer to brewing beer to owning The Tap
Room and creating St John Brewers VI. Their story is inspiring http://www.stjohnbrewers.com .
After 10+ years of providing assistance to others, we
find Kevin and Cheech in need of assistance themselves. With the roof blown off
their St John house and possessions gone, their business, The Tap Room and
their distributing company, St John Brewers, remain…. we think. Communication
to and from the island is shaky and we have yet to connect with them
personally. We do know that the island is devastated and there are no tourists
left to visit their establishment.
Log onto their website http://www.stjohnbrewers.com and send
a message asking how you might help them. Tell them their Hope for Limpopo friends sent you.
“Thank You!” for reaching out.
