After a two-year hiatus, the Saint Lucia House Foundation will once again host its annual all-white-themed brunch affair, the “Plezi en Blanc.” The fundraiser, benefitting the Dr. Donatus St. Aimee Scholarship Fund will be held on Sunday, June 19th, at the Saint Lucia House, 438 East 49th Street (between Church and Snyder Avenues), in Brooklyn, New York. What has been called “Brooklyn’s best kept secret” was twice postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The St. Aimee Scholarship Fund, recipient of the proceeds from this year’s event, was named for Dr. Donatus Keith “Mutch” St. Aimee, Saint Lucia’s former ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations. Known as “the people’s ambassador,” he was instrumental in settling differences between various factions within the Saint Lucian community. It was thus that the Saint Lucia House Foundation came to be.
A former educator, civil servant, diplomat, and cultural activist, Dr. St. Aimee, who passed away in 2015, never missed an opportunity to advance his community and country, and left an indelible mark on all those who were fortunate enough to cross his path. In a tribute at his memorial, Stephenson King, former Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, said: “Keith always spoke with an enthusiasm which was infectious, drawing the listener into helping him with what he had in mind, or with the task that he was presently engaged in.” Dr. St. Aimee worked closely with The Saint Lucia House Foundation and its member organizations, frequently serving as an advisor and mediator.
The most recent recipient of the Donatus St. Aimee Scholarship Fund was Lysa V.A. Auguste, MS, MD Candidate at Howard University College of Medicine.