Giving Matters Spring 2016

Giving Matters
A GRANTEE SPOTLIGHT OF THE
NORTHERN LOWCOUNTRY
SPRING 2016
UPCOMING
EVENTS
Save The Date: Lowcountry
Giving Day 2016 is May 3 rd
On May 3rd, more than 300
nonprofits and thousands
of donors will unite
across the Lowcountry to
celebrate philanthropy.
Visit lowcountrygivingday.org
today to schedule your gift
- your card will charge on
the 3 rd - and learn about
the many participating
organizations (including
CCF!).
Loving America Street
“People are people, not projects”
GRANT
DISTRIBUTION
FROM 11/01/15 – 1/31/16
• $281,735 and 34 grants have gone
out to Berkley County
• $2,242,251 and 405 grants have
gone out to Charleston County
• $327,150 and 65 grants have gone
out to Dorchester County
• $520,996 and 61 grants have gone
out to Georgetown County
• $265,596 and 72 grants have gone
out to Horry County
Community growth is bred through investment.
It is through this ideal that Loving America
Street, a nonprofit founded in 2014 by College
of Charleston graduate Samantha Sammis, was
born.
Loving America Street gives residents of
the Eastside of Charleston a place to grow
their community’s assets and empower their
neighbors. These assets - faith, the organization’s
home and porch at 90 Columbus Street, Mall
Park on America Street, and the most recent
addition, Laundry Matters, the organization-run
laundromat - are celebrated on a daily basis.
Bible studies, the “Women in Technology” coding
class, basketball on Fridays and laundry and
Wi-Fi everyday (thanks to local Wi-Fi sponsor
BoomTown!) keep Executive Director Samantha
Sammis and her team of volunteers busy.
One hundred percent volunteer-run, the
organization’s most recent venture included
leasing, renovating and staffing the community
laundromat, which had crumbing walls and an
asbestos-ridden interior less than a year ago.
As the only laundromat within walking distance
of Charleston’s Eastside, this quickly became
an important mission for the Loving America
Street team. In four months, the organization
raised $50,000 to renovate the property, fix old
machines and purchase four new washers and
six new dryers.
After having made its first few dollars of
profit after seven months of operating, the
organization’s new goal is to purchase the
entire building: a corner store and two upstairs
apartments, which in the future can house two
community residents staffing the laundromat.
Loving America Street is a grantee of the
Lowcountry Unity Fund. To learn more, please
visit www.lovingamericastreet.org.
COASTALCOMMUNITYFOUNDATION.ORG

Flowertown Players Theater by the community, for the community
In 40 years of serving the Summerville community, Flowertown Players has grown from a passionate group of enthusiasts
financing their own productions to an organization providing space for the study of theatre for all ages. As the community’s
only full-time theatre organization, Flowertown Players operates nearly every day of the week in the James F. Dean Theatre,
a building now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, located in Historic Downtown Summerville. Theatre staff
produce professional seasonal theatre productions as well as Young Adult and Youth Theatre. Flowertown Underground,
the organization’s recognized group of Young Adult actors produces seasonal performances, including “Rosencrantz &
Guildenstern are Dead”, and teaches free annual workshops available to local students. Last May, the organization sponsored
a Theatre-Athon: a full day of free performances in celebration of Lowcountry Giving Day. To learn more, please visit www.
flowertownplayers.org.
Berkeley County Rescue Squad Safekeeping Berkeley County
Formed in 1966, Berkeley County Rescue Squad stands by its original mission statement: strive to save lives and lend
a helping hand to those in need. Born out of a search team to join service men and women looking for some missing
teenagers on Lake Moultrie, this organization, staffed by 30+ volunteers, is on-call 24/7 and equipped with trucks, boats and
a premier diving team to assist with searches throughout Berkeley County.
Recently, the Squad became the first organization in the Tri-County to receive a drone to assist with rescue missions and was
the recipient of a grant from Home Community Fund of Coastal Community Foundation (a fund created by Home Telecom) to
update Squad life vests more than ten years old. The Squad responds to approximately 100 calls per year, most of which are
water-related search or recovery missions. For updates on the Squad please go to www.berkeleyrescue.com.
Sea Haven for Youth Safe places for children in need
With a mission to improve safety and the well-being of homeless and forgotten youth ages 13-21, Sea Haven for Youth
has been the sole organization providing a safe place for children in need in Horry County since 1980. The organization’s
emergency shelter home provides 24-hour supervision by professional staff and can provide temporary living space while
providing academic assistance, guidance sessions and field trips. A new shelter under construction will eventually house
12 youth. Transitional living and outreach program Project Lighthouse focuses on students ages 16-21 in need of essentials
like ID cards, toiletries, counseling and career guidance. To follow the construction of Sea Haven’s new shelter and for more
information, please visit www.seahaveninc.com.
The Mitney Project Putting the fun back into learning
The Mitney Project works toward the goal of community betterment for the founders’ home of West End, a low-income
neighborhood in Georgetown. The word “mitney” means child and refers to the organization’s mission: “put fun back
into learning.” Its Community Center, purchased and renovated to include a medical office in 2013, serves more than
2,000 residents annually. This includes medical care, cultural enrichment and educational programs for youth, plus adult
programming. Courses are low-cost or free-of-charge to participants. Student courses include “Gotta Have Art!”, “Log On!
– Computer Lab”, and “Robotics” while adult courses include credit counseling, homebuyer/homeowner workshops and
entrepreneurial mentoring. The Mitney Project is a recent grantee of the Chitty Family Endowment of CCF and the Frances P.
Bunnelle Foundation. Read more about putting fun back into learning in Georgetown at www.themitneyproject.org.
COASTALCOMMUNITYFOUNDATION.ORG

Giving Matters
A GRANTEE SPOTLIGHT OF THE
SOUTHERN LOWCOUNTRY
SPRING 2016
UPCOMING
EVENTS
Save The Date: Lowcountry
Giving Day 2016 is May 3 rd
On May 3rd, more than 300
nonprofits and thousands
of donors will unite
across the Lowcountry to
celebrate philanthropy.
Visit lowcountrygivingday.org
today to schedule your gift
- your card will charge on
the 3 rd - and learn about
the many participating
organizations (including
CCF!).
Colleton Commercial Kitchen
Cooking up entrepreneurial success
GRANT
DISTRIBUTION
FROM 11/01/15 – 1/31/16
• $281,735 and 34 grants have gone
out to Beaufort County
• $141,438 and 12 grants have gone
out to Colleton County
• $209,489 and 27 grants have gone
out to Hampton County
• $46,095 and 7 grants have gone out
to Jasper County
Colleton Commercial Kitchen was founded
in affiliation with the Colleton Museum
and the Colleton Farmers Market to provide
entrepreneurial culinary community members
one missing ingredient: the kitchen.
Launched in the rural community of Walterboro,
Colleton Commercial Kitchen advocates
for the success of farm-to-table business
ventures, restaurant startups and commercial
entrepreneurship.
With rent starting at $20 per hour, local culinary
entrepreneurs have access to state-of-the-art
commercial kitchen equipment, simplifying
the processes of buying, selling, growing and
cooking.
Opened last June, this organization has already
gained some influential members. Frencheducated
Pastry Chef LaShaughn Williams finds
time to produce pastries for Atol Bakery, run the
lunch counter at Colleton Commercial Kitchen
and work as a Pastry Chef for The Belmond
Charleston Place. Saucier partners Cris Miller
and Bob Cook (Chef de Cuisine at Cypress and
Artisan Meat Share in Charleston) have launched
brand name Burnt & Salty, known for its Korean
Mustard and Coconut Suka sauces. For SC
barbecue lovers, another partner will soon have
his five BBQ sauces evaluated by the Department
of Health.
Cooking classes offered at the facility range
from how-to’s, like how to incorporate locallysourced
ingredients from the neighboring
Farmers Market in entrepreneurs’ cooking, to
monthly courses by the regional Small Business
Development Center.
This organization’s rehabilitation of a disinvested
building into a bustling town center has been
a catalyst for redevelopment in downtown
Walterboro. To read more, please visit www.
colletonkitchen.org.
COASTALCOMMUNITYFOUNDATION.ORG

Friends of Caroline Hospice Devoted to caring
Friends of Caroline Hospice has served Beaufort County patients and their families for 39 years. Equipped with a team of
15 full-time individuals, this organization provided care to 86 terminally ill patients and their families in 2014. In this same
year, the organization provided 10,864 hours of Registered Nursing Services, logged 1,104 volunteer hours, provided
support services and groups to 350 adults and facilitated bereavement support to more than 100 children. For Melissa Viets,
Director of Physician/Community Relations at Friends of Caroline, “saying yes to hospice care” means adding life to the rest
of your days while also helping family members involved in this program. Friends of Caroline most recently received a grant
from The Beaufort Fund. To learn more about the sole nonprofit providing hospice care in Beaufort County, please visit www.
friendsofcarolinehospice.org.
TCL Mungin Center and Hampton County Literacy
Council Solving problems with literacy
Technical College of the Lowcountry and Hampton County Literacy Council have teamed up to make literacy a priority
for Hampton County. Literacy Council courses are now offered at TCL’s Hampton Campus Mungin Center in Varnville, SC.
Programs including GED prep, WorkKeys prep and basic skills courses are offered to county residents, 24 percent of whom
are functionally illiterate. After graduation from Hampton County Literacy Council courses at TCL Mungin Center, many
students choose to continue their education with TCL. TCL Mungin Center offers newly renovated welding and Computer
Numerical Control tool technology labs, as well as programs in computer literacy, nursing assistant, and EMT certification.
Partners TCL Mungin Center and Hampton County Literacy Council are recent grantees of the Winthrop Family Allendale/
Hampton Fund. For more information on continuing education programs in Hampton County and this partnership, please
visit www.hamptoncountyliteracy.weebly.com.
Santa Elena Foundation Preserving a lost century of America’s history
More than 40 years before the English settled in Jamestown, the Spanish established Santa Elena, a town and fort on the
shores of Port Royal Sound. Santa Elena Foundation was created in 2014 with a mission to research, preserve and promote
the history of Santa Elena, one of the earliest and most significant European colonial capitals. History programs, offered
weekly this season, speak to all ages and even include Camp Dig It, an archaeological children’s program. Their website
also features a free lesson plan which the organization created with the National Park Service. In April, the organization will
celebrate their grand opening at a former Federal Court building, giving this historic courthouse back to the public and
highlighting centuries of local history. Santa Elena Foundation is a recent grantee of The Beaufort Fund of Coastal Community
Foundation. Learn more about preserving this lost century of America’s history at www.santa-elena.org.
Healthy Learners Allendale Transportation: the key to success
According to a study done with Small Area Health Estimates, 20.7 percent of the approximately 9,000 residents under
21 years of age in Allendale County are uninsured, even though 67.5 percent of parents of children ages 6-17 are in the
labor force. Founded in 2005, Healthy Learners Allendale looks to address children’s access to healthcare by providing
transportation to healthcare appointments. Ranging from dental care and delivery of medications, to the coordination of
clinical counseling, school nurses serve as first responders in this program and can recommend that students in Grades K-12
become a part of Healthy Learners. Healthcare costs are covered if the student is covered by Medicaid or uninsured. Healthy
Learners is a recent grantee of the Winthrop Family Allendale/Hampton Fund. For more information, please visit www.
healthylearners.com/allendale/.
COASTALCOMMUNITYFOUNDATION.ORG