Cloud 9 and Pat soar to a Higher Level

Cloud 9 and Pat soar to a Higher Level

Our own chocolatier, Patricia, was granted a visa to enter the US for a much-anticipated conference in Atlantic City on chocolate. Thanks to so many of our friends in the New Jersey area who arranged the housing details and for Bruce Smith to secure the invite to the conference, Pat is moving up in her chocolate-making knowledge, which will help us to expand and improve our Cloud 9 products. 

Our friends of ACE at Bethel Baptist just couldn’t hold back on giving Pat the best American experience, so after her conference, she was taken to all the top places every Jamaican wants to see – starting with Walmart! Chick-fil-A was also on the list, and she even had a trip with our friends, Hope and Bruce, to Atlantic City and Ocean City!  

Then Pat flew to Indiana to be with our Rebel Ministries friends, Tina and Luke, for a few days where she got on a bike with Tina and did a four-mile ride. Pat reminisced about how she used to ride on her father’s bike when she was little, and now she has new memories. A stop in the states cannot go without a one-nighter in Atlanta to see a few of her best friends, like Tina and Ms. Betty. 

Thank you all for making this trip possible for Pat. Her horizons have been broadened, and we at ACE had the pleasure of watching it all come to life! 

Cloud 9 gets crankin’ again!!

Cloud 9 gets crankin’ again!!

It’s been a while since Pat has been making chocolate in our Cloud 9 chocolate factory. But this week, the lights were on, the machines were grinding, and the sweet smell of Jamaican chocolate was in the air again. Bruce Smith, our founding ACE chocolatier, arrived on the island after a year and a half to help Pat get the St. Mary chocolate bars rolling out again.

Not only was Bruce surprised to see what Pat and her helpers had been working on, but he and the team of volunteers from Bethel Baptist got to be the first ones to experience the chocolate-making tour and taste the new, improved flavors of St. Mary chocolate.

We delivered our first wholesale order to a shop in Falmouth where some of the big cruise lines dock! With the help of Bruce, Pat and her team can now make about 100 bars per day. This is 100% increase in production from 50 bars last created pre-COVID years.

ACE is so proud of this micro-business. We hope to launch our first tour next month to our friends at the tourist board. We are praying for a “sweet deal” in bookings from the hotels and ships as we move into fall.  Need some chocolate? Go online to our Cloud 9 website to read all about our story and our flavors, and then come on down to Jamaica to pick some up!

 

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More Than A Vacation

More Than A Vacation

When ACE first came to St. Mary, we called it a Vacation with a Purpose. This was pre-Galina Breeze Hotel; we were staying in an older hotel across from the main road with a view of the beach and some garbage. We knew that when most people take a vacation from work, they want to sit and relax, but this was going to be different. It was a break from the everyday but with meaning… and a lot of work.

Speeding forward several decades, ACE has retooled. Due to the challenging times we live in, thanks to COVID, where organizations are not sending larger groups, we are taking this opportunity to step back and refocus on what individual volunteers can bring to the table. We are living out our saying of “Flexibility is the key to success” motto these days. Instead of us telling you what to do, you can tell us what fits best with your talents, skills and interests. We’ve created a new Impact Menu list for you to choose what projects and experiences suit you.

We still offer the opportunity for groups to come down together, but we know that there are many individuals who want to come and join up with other adventurous people to work together, serve the community and make a difference. We have several weeks set aside each month through March (with more to come the rest of the year) for you to choose what works for you.

Want to come on your own? Do you have a friend you think would be interested… or even your family or small group of friends? Check it out by clicking the button below. Consider it.  We can still change lives and transform communities – one volunteer at a time!