July 2020 Community Engagement Grants

Bridges for End-of-Life Speaking Grief; A documentary and community discussion about healthy grieving           

Bridges will host a public screening of Speaking Grief, a Public Media Documentary, to increase grief awareness in our community and connect people to service agencies. Speaking Grief is a documentary that explores the transformative experience of losing a family member in a grief-avoidant society. This is a community engagement event that aims to start a public conversation about healthy grieving. Agencies will be invited to participate by connecting with attendees and sharing resources. Attendees will participate in the following activities: Memory Garden (Attendees can write the name or a memory of their loved one on a stone to be added to a Memory Garden) and Story Wall (Attendees will provide anecdotes and impact stories for the Story Wall).

 

Teach for America South Carolina Equitable Education Tour Series

In order to involve community members in our mission for educational equity and expand our base of support, Teach for America is launching the Equitable Education Tour Series at the start of the 2020-2021 school year. Teach for America will host four school visits during the school year for donors and partners to give them an inside look at how TFASC works together with schools and districts to ensure that every student has the opportunity to receive an excellent education. The tours will target existing and potential donors, including individuals, foundations, and corporations, who have the ability to support our work so that children's educational opportunities are no longer determined by where they are born or the wealth of their family. Each tour would have up to twenty donors and be planned in partnership with teachers and school administration to ensure minimal disruption to students while still providing a firsthand introduction to the needs in high-poverty schools. 

 

Metanoia Family Night Series: Thriving in Place

Metanoia is planning a series of six Metanoia Youth Leadership Academy (MYLA) Family Nights during the 2020-2021 school year where-in we will explore the theme of Thriving in Place. Monthly Family Nights are held on-site wherein family members of 'scholars' attending our afterschool youth leadership program are invited to engage in participatory learning opportunities. MYLA scholars and their families live in underserved communities within the Tri-County region.

 

Charleston Promise Neighborhood - Chicora/Mary Ford Community Back to School Bash

As the families prepare to send their students back for the 2020-2021 school year, there will be a Back to School Bash at which families will have the opportunity to collect donated school uniforms, backpacks, and school supplies, such as pens, pencils, paper, notebooks, crayons, coloring books, health kits, and healthy lifestyle information. CPN will have a KidsWell registration table to increase enrollment in the clinic, thereby increasing access to care. At the table, CPN will distribute much needed home medical supplies such as digital thermometers, bandages, gauze, disinfectants, and anti-bacterial cream. CPN will provide pamphlets on topics such as asthma and healthy habits, and will review the information with parents on-site.

 

Kingdom Restoration - Foresight 2020 Back to School Super Fest

"Kingdom Restoration will host ""Foresight 2020 Back to School Super Fest"" on the grounds of Lord of the Harvest Christian Faith Center. This area is perfect because it is located in the heart of North Charleston. During this back to school event, the agency will provide: 500 backpacks filled with supplies for children grades Pre k-12, food, health screenings, haircuts and styles, face paintings and games. Our goal is to assist in balancing the playing field for student from North Charleston poorer communities."

 

Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services - Legal Aid for Human Trafficking Victims Seminar

Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services will host a free continuing legal education (CLE) seminar for licensed attorneys in South Carolina, specifically targeting attorneys in the Tri-County area. The seminar will focus exclusively on legal issues faced by victims of human trafficking. CHS Pro Bono seeks to educate local attorneys on various aspects of representing these human trafficking victims so that they are better equipped to take on a pro bono case. Our community has been diligently working on addressing this growing national crisis. Here in the Tri-County, we are active participants with the Human Trafficking Taskforce. The Tri-County Human Trafficking Task Force is a regional coalition of the S.C. Attorney General's Human Trafficking Task Force, serving Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester Counties. Comprised of professional leadership from the Tri-County region, the mission is to create a coordinated, multidisciplinary response to end human trafficking.

 

Shifa Clinic - Back-2-School Giveaway Program

ICNA Relief, Shifa Clinic is serving the needs of our community with a back to school giveaway event on August 8th, 2020. We will be working together with collaborative agencies and volunteers to provide 250 backpacks to children from low-income areas, with some essential school supplies. In addition to free school necessities, our volunteers will be supporting the health needs of our community. The event will include onsite school physicals, no-cost immunizations, eye-exams and haircuts for children along with access to various agencies that are collaborating for the day. Participants can also benefit from Fresh Express, which will be onsite and is a farmer's market that provides free, fresh produce to families suffering from food insecurity or a lack of access to healthy food staples. This program empowers families to choose the type and quantity of food that meets their needs. 
 

Wake UP Carolina - Recovery Coach Academy for Young Adults

This funding will allow Wake Up Carolina's Program Director to offer a special training opportunity to up to 30 community member volunteers at a single five-day training event. The training will take place over five days, lunch and snacks will be provided, all to make the event informative and worthwhile. The general demographics of our training participants will be young adults, not limited to, but we are hoping to encourage those who are in the age group being directly impacted by the opioid crisis. A recovery coach is a trained professional or volunteer who can assist clients in getting clarity of their vision of living a substance free life. A recovery coach helps design a program to empower individual, a family, or a partner with the information and accountability needed to achieve the results desired. Because WakeUp Carolina focuses on helping all who ask regardless of ability to pay, we offer the services on a volunteer basis.