Colvin Georges' classmates raise $13,000 for care
Published: September 28, 2012
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ST. THOMAS - The high school classmates of Colvin Georges raised more than $13,000 for the wounded V.I. Police officer at an event last month.
The Ivanna Eudora Kean and Charlotte Amalie High School classes of 1988 joined together to host the fundraiser, which featured food, drinks and music at Lionel Roberts Stadium.
Classmate Patrick Farrell said the Aug. 12 event, plus an online PayPal account, netted $13,263 for Georges. The money now is going to pay for a private nurse to stay through the night with Georges, who is now paralyzed.
Farrell said he also had a chance to visit Georges in the hospital after the fundraiser.
"It was great to see that he was able to speak clearly," Farrell said. "That was definitely a highlight for me."
Farrell said he wanted to thank everyone who supported the event.
"This is what we are able to do," he said.
Georges was wounded while on duty in May when he and another officer, Aaron Hodge, approached a group of loiterers near the car wash in Contant. One of the loiterers opened fire on the officers, and Georges was shot in the neck and paralyzed from the neck down.
In the following months, Georges' medical bills exceeded a statutory limit of $200,000 on worker's compensation claims for V.I. government employees, and the government struggled to find a way to pay for the officer's continuing care after his insurance ran out.
Since then, the Legislature has increased the worker's compensation cap for hazardous duty employees to $750,000, and Government House has pledged to cover all of Georges' future medical bills.
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