CaribPR Wire

NASSAU, The Bahamas, Dec. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The Moore Bahamas Foundation (”Moore Bahamas”) today announced its fourth and final $300,000 grant for Hurricane Dorian relief and recovery. Today’s announcement brings Moore Bahamas’ total contributions to $1 million, and completes its pledge on behalf of conservation philanthropist Louis Bacon to support hurricane recovery.

Initially focused on emergency aid and community rebuilding in some of the hardest hit areas of The Bahamas, Moore Bahamas’ Hurricane Dorian recovery grants quickly expanded to meet essential needs exacerbated by the onset of COVID-19. This final round of Dorian donations builds on Moore Bahamas’ mission to support sustainability by fostering environmental restoration and promoting economic diversification. In addition to ongoing food aid in Grand Bahama, the grants focus on building back better for the Bahamas’ people and ecology.

Moore Bahamas has also joined with local partners such as inner-city community service organization, Lend A Hand Bahamas, to conduct job-skills training in New Providence. Training is aimed at diversifying student skill sets for jobs outside of today’s heavily impacted tourism market.

“Tourism always will be foundational to The Bahamas’ economy, but both Dorian and the coronavirus pandemic have made it clear that a resilient economic future depends on the next generation of Bahamians being ready to captain new industries less reliant on foreign visitors,” said Lucas Metropulus, Chair of Lend a Hand. “The generous support from Moore Bahamas launches an enterprising program to upskill talented young people in topics ranging from web and graphic design to aquaponic farming to call-center etiquette.”

In an effort to bolster environmental resilience against future storms, and working with partners such as the Bahamas National Trust, Friends of the Environment, and local bone fishing guides, the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) will replant mangrove forests on both Grand Bahama and Abaco. Hurricane Dorian destroyed nearly 74% of mangrove cover on Grand Bahama and 40% on Abaco.

Other programs will work to build long-term island resilience with a focus on renewable energy and sustainable food systems. In partnership with the Bahamian government, the Rocky Mountain Institute seeks to advance plans to create a solar-powered “green-grid” at East End Grand Bahama. ADRA Bahamas will provide aquaponic farming equipment to several Grand Bahama farmers whose equipment was lost to Dorian, as well as kits and training for at-home farming and community greenhouses to more than 700 households. SPB Bahamas, focused on ongoing household rebuilding, received a challenge grant to solarize a piece of critical infrastructure on the island.

“Working with the people of The Bahamas this year has underscored their incredible resilience in the face of Hurricane Dorian and now a global pandemic,” said Mr. Bacon, chairman of The Moore Charitable Foundation and Moore Bahamas, its local affiliate. “The humanity and passion of our local organizational partners is inspiring. We are proud to support their efforts to lessen the compounding economic stresses of this year and remain committed to driving growth and recovery in the Bahamas.”

Additional Dorian relief grant recipients included the Bain Grant’s Town Advancement Association, Friends of the Environment (Abaco), the Government’s Grand Bahama Food Task Force, the Grand Bahama Rotary Disaster Relief Committee, Ranfurly Homes for Children, and Waterkeeper Bahamas. A complete list of the Hurricane Dorian Relief and Rebuilding grants made by Moore Bahamas as part of the $1 million pledge is available here.

About The Moore Bahamas Foundation
The Moore Bahamas Foundation, the Bahamas affiliate of The Moore Charitable Foundation, founded by Louis Bacon in 1992, supports organizations committed to marine conservation, working with partners including Waterkeepers Bahamas; The Cape Eleuthera Institute; The Nature Conservancy Caribbean Program – Bahamas; The Bahamas National Trust, and Oceans 5.  Learn more about the Moore Charitable Foundation at www.moorecharitable.org.

Follow: @MooreCharitable

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1390179/Louis_Bacon.jpg
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1390180/The_Moore_Bahamas_Foundation_Logo.jpg

NASSAU, Bahamas, Dec. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The Moore Bahamas Foundation (”Moore Bahamas”) today announced $300,000 in new grants for Hurricane Dorian relief and recovery, part of $1 million in support pledged by conservation philanthropist Louis Bacon.

The new grants follow Moore Bahamas’ funding for emergency aid immediately after the hurricane and a post-hurricane needs assessment. The grants will help address continuing emergency needs and accelerate recovery of The Bahamas’ spectacular ecosystems and its economy.

“In the wake of Dorian’s destruction, our goal is to support families as they reconstruct the best possible future for themselves and their communities,” said Mr. Bacon, chairman of The Moore Charitable Foundation and Moore Bahamas, its local affiliate. “By supporting environmental restoration and humanitarian relief alike, Moore Bahamas hopes to help the people of Grand Bahama and Abaco get their lives and their economy back on track.”

Moore Bahamas is supporting organizations that are deploying recovery resources over the next year, including a partnership with the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) to conduct ecosystem damage assessments for the maritime and mangrove habitats of Grand Bahama and Abaco.

“The post-storm assessments funded by the Moore Bahamas Foundation will guide how and where to make the most impactful habitat restoration investments,” said Shelley Cant-Woodside, BNT’s Director of Science. “In addition to fueling The Bahamas’ tourism economy, healthy ecosystems play a crucial role in buffering our communities against the effects of future storms.”

A list of grantees is below. A complete list of the 2019 grants made by Moore Bahamas is available here.

Bahamas National Trust (BNT)

Bahamas Reef Environmental Education Foundation (BREEF)

Friends of the Environment in Abaco (Friends)

GiveDirectly

Grand Bahama Disaster Relief Foundation (GBDRF)

International Medical Corps (IMC)

Paradise Fund

Ranfurly Home for Children

Waterkeepers Bahamas

Waves For Water (W4W)

About The Moore Bahamas Foundation
The Moore Bahamas Foundation, the Bahamas affiliate of The Moore Charitable Foundation, founded by Louis Bacon in 1992, supports organizations committed to marine conservation, working with partners including Waterkeepers Bahamas; The Cape Eleuthera Institute; The Nature Conservancy Caribbean Program - Bahamas; The Bahamas National Trust, and Oceans 5.  Learn more about the Moore Charitable Foundation at www.moorecharitable.org.

Follow: @MooreCharitable

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1056553/Louis_Bacon.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/975012/The_Moore_Bahamas_Foundation_Logo.jpg

NASSAU, Bahamas, Nov. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The Bahamas Supreme Court sentenced Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard to 90 days in prison and fined him US$150,000 for contempt of court in a long-running legal dispute centered around an environmental group’s stolen emails.

The pilfered emails belonged to Save the Bays (STB), a non-profit environmental group that has fought Nygard over illegal dredging and development activities at his waterfront home in the Bahamas since 2013. Those activities have destroyed marine life and habitat in Clifton Bay, an area whose natural beauty was made famous in the James Bond movie “Thunderball.”

In 2016, STB’s emails were stolen and read aloud in Parliament. In a landmark decision, a Bahamian judge ruled that two members of parliament had violated the constitutional rights of STB and its members and order that the emails remain private.

In October, Nygard was found to have breached the injunction. Nygard has not appeared for numerous hearings in the court case, and he did not show up at Friday’s hearing, where he was ordered by Justice Ruth M.L. Bowe-Darville to make a full written apology, explain his absence, and promise in writing within seven days to stop using the e-mails.

“For decades, Peter Nygard has behaved as if he was above the law in The Bahamas,” said attorney Fred Smith, a STB director whose emails were among those read in Parliament. “He has been convicted of contempt of court on four separate occasions by the Supreme Court of The Bahamas. His repeated disrespect for the administration of justice has finally caught up with him. I hope he is man enough to come back to The Bahamas he says he loves so much to serve his time and pay the $150,000 fine.”

Under Friday’s ruling, Nygard will have to pay a $5,000 fine for every day that he does not comply with the court’s orders. The $150,000 fine must be paid by November 22 or he will be sentenced to an additional 30 days in prison and an additional $5,000 for every day the fine remains unpaid.