The Antigua and Barbuda Department of Tourism in the US, recently partnered with “Just Between Girlfriends (JBG)” a not for profit organization that focuses on the empowerment of women and children. The 7-year old national organization founded by New York Daily News Reporter, Chrisena Coleman, is a women’s networking group that hosts memorable and fun-filled events for professional, multicultural women, to raise funding for charities that support women and children.

JBG’s newsletter is distributed nationwide to a database of over 10,000 professionals and these events have attracted celebrities such as Yolanda Adams, Carl Banks and Oprah Winfrey’s sidekick, Gayle King, as well as the wives of many professional athletes. The organization is currently being featured on Lifetime Television as part of the “Real Women, Real Stories” campaign.

Bermuda and Antigua and Barbuda are sponsors of these networking events that feature a silent auction as the main attraction. JBG events often attract hundreds of professional women in search of high-end designer goods, vacation packages, concert tickets and other specialty items, donated for auction by participating sponsors.

At a JBG event held last Saturday night in Englewood, New Jersey, Antigua and Barbuda provided a trip for two on Delta, with accommodations at St. James’ Club. The initial bid began at $250 and an intensive bidding war ensued that was finally narrowed down to two vigilant bidders, locked in a dead heat, in their quest to secure this prize trip. Executive Patricia Harris eventually outbid Dr. Michael Jones at $1250 for this highly sought after vacation package. Harris, who is of Barbudan descent, was determined to be the final winner, as she had already begun to make plans for a trip to Antigua and Barbuda.

Derede Samuel-Whitlock, US Director of Tourism indicated “Antigua and Barbuda is proud to be a supporter of JBG, just one example of the positive community work that the destination wants to be associated with. JBG has a presence in some of our major source markets in the US, making this a strategic and cost effective marketing outlet as we attempt to attract more group and incentive travel.”

JBG founder Chrisena Coleman, thanked the Department of Tourism for their support and announced that the organization is making plans to celebrate its 10th anniversary in Antigua and Barbuda in 2009. JBG is currently hosting a five city tour to benefit victims of domestic violence, with stops in Houston, New York, Atlanta, Tampa and Los Angeles. As a journalist who reports on murder and mayhem, Coleman sees how domestic violence affects the lives of millions of women and with the support of 3,000-plus JBG members from around the country, the organization continues to raise awareness and funding to support victims of domestic violence, AIDS, diabetes and breast cancer.