December 8, 2021

SC Ports awards $205,000 to community organizations

Funding from SC Ports’ Community Giving Program will support Camp Rise Above’s mission of providing fun, life-changing camp experiences to children with serious illnesses, life challenges and disabilities. (Photo/Provided by Camp Rise Above)

CHARLESTON, SC — DEC.8, 2021 — South Carolina Ports has awarded $205,000 in grants to 111 community organizations and nonprofits throughout South Carolina as part of its fiscal year 2022 Community Giving Program.

SC Ports dedicates a portion of its revenues each year to support charitable organizations in the communities in which the port operates. Programs with measurable, sustained impacts receive priority during the selection process.

“The SC Ports team believes strongly in supporting the great organizations in South Carolina that work tirelessly to make a meaningful and measurable difference in people’s lives,” SC Ports CEO Jim Newsome said. “At a time of economic hardship for many, SC Ports is proud to play a small role in supporting the important work done by the Community Giving Program grant recipients.”

Many of this year’s grant recipients are dedicated to improving children’s lives through supportive mentoring programs, outdoor and enrichment activities, and confidence-building curricula.

Grant funding will support more than 135,000 children throughout South Carolina with programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lowcountry, Healing Farms, Orangeburg County Community of Character, The Green Heart Project and Wings for Kids, to name a few.

Grants will also support literacy programs — such as Begin with Books and Reading Partners of South Carolina — benefiting nearly 7,000 students.

SC Ports continues to support organizations dedicated to addressing food insecurity and improving access to healthy foods. Programs such as East Cooper Meals on Wheels, Fresh Future Farm, Greer Community Ministries, Help 4 Kids Florence and Love Feeds will use grant funding to help serve more than 7,000 individuals around the state. SC Ports also recently donated $24,000 to the Lowcountry Food Bank.

Several grant recipients received funds for workforce development initiatives. Greenville Technical College will use the funding to create nine scholarships for its Truck Driver Training Program. Programs such as this create a career path and provide vital job skills for the logistics and maritime industry, which are crucial to the success of port operations.

This year’s grant funding will also support 17 health and wellness programs around the state, impacting more than 10,000 children and adults. Beyond Basic Life Skills, Children’s Cancer Partners of the Carolinas, Greenville Area Parkinson Society, Girls on the Run Charleston, Going Places, Good Neighbor Medical Clinic and Mercy Medicine Free Clinic are among the grant recipients working to improve people’s lives by providing access to health care and wellness programs.

“SC Ports strives to have a positive impact in our communities, as do these 111 incredible grant award recipients,” said Jordi Yarborough, SC Ports’ senior vice president of community engagement. “It is through partnerships with organizations like these that we achieve our shared goal of making a difference in South Carolina.”

2021 Community Giving Program grant recipients:

Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired SC

Audubon South Carolina

Be A Mentor

BEGIN WITH BOOKS

Berkeley Chamber of Commerce

Beyond BASIC Life Skills

Beyond Our Walls, Inc. (BOWs)

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lowcountry

Bridges of Hope

Camp Discovery

Camp Happy Days

Camp Rise Above

Carolina Youth Development Center

Charleston Area Seniors - Meals on Wheels of Charleston

Charleston Gaillard Management Corporation

Charleston Habitat for Humanity

Charleston Parks Conservancy

Children’s Cancer Partners of the Carolinas

Clemson Extension

Coaches 4 Character

Cocky’s Reading Express

Communities In Schools of South Carolina

Community Pride

Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center

Dillon Community Alliance

Dillon County Chamber of Commerce

Dillon County First Steps

Dillon County Parks and Recreation

Dillon County United Way

Dorchester County Economic Development

East Cooper Community Outreach

East Cooper Meals on Wheels

Edisto Island Youth Recreation (EIYR)

First Tee - Greater Charleston

Florence Area Literacy Council

Florence Crittenton Programs of SC

Fresh Future Farm

Friends of Coastal South Carolina

Future Entrepreneurs Foundation

Georgetown County Family YMCA

Georgetown County Historical Society

Gibbes Museum of Art

Girls on the Run Charleston (Coastal South Carolina)

Going Places

Good Neighbor Medical Clinic

Greenville Area Parkinson Society (GAPS)

Greenville Drive

Greenville Tech Foundation

Greer Community Ministries, Inc.

Greer Development Corporation

Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County

Healing Farms

Heart Of Life

Help 4 Kids Florence

Helping and Lending Outreach Support, HALOS

Historic Camden Foundation

MUSC Hollings Cancer Center - LOWVELO

Hospice and Palliative Care Foundation

Humanities Foundation Inc.

Junior Achievement of Greater SC

Kids On Point

Kingdom Restoration Community Development Corporation

Latta Revitalization Commission

A Backpack Journalist

Lions Vision Services

Love Feeds

Lowcountry Autism Foundation

LowCountry Habitat for Humanity

Lowcountry Legal Volunteers

Lowcountry Local First

Lowcountry Maritime School

Lowcountry Orphan Relief

Meals On Wheels of Summerville

Mercy Medicine Free Clinic

Mingle of the Pee Dee

Monroe’s Mighty Mission

Mother Emanuel Memorial Foundation

Multiplying Good

My Sister’s House

Naomi Project

Operation Home

Orangeburg County Community of Character

Partnership for Tomorrow

Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault

Potters House Restoration Ministries Inc.

Reading Partners South Carolina

Real Talk Real Action Real Results

Rebuild Upstate

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Charleston, Inc.

Rural Area Leadership Initiative-Dillon County (RALI-DC)

SC Future Makers

SC Operation Lifesaver

SC School for the Deaf and the Blind Foundation

SC Uplift Community Outreach

The School Foundation

Sisters 4 The Future

South Carolina Aquarium

South Carolina Youth Advocate Program (SCYAP)

Teachers’ Supply Closet

The ARK of SC

The Charleston Forum

The Charleston Museum

The Children’s Center

The Green Heart Project

TINYisPOWERFUL

Trident Literacy Association

United Ministries

Wings for Kids

Winyah Rivers Foundation, Inc. (Winyah Rivers Alliance)

Wounded Nature - Working Veterans

YWCA Greater Charleston

About South Carolina Ports Authority

South Carolina Ports Authority, established by the state's General Assembly in 1942, owns and operates public seaport and intermodal facilities in Charleston, Dillon, Georgetown and Greer. As an economic development engine for the state, Port operations facilitate 225,000 statewide jobs and generate nearly $63.4 billion in annual economic activity. SC Ports is soon to be home to the deepest harbor on the U.S. East Coast at 52 feet. SC Ports is an industry leader in delivering speed-to-market, seamless processes and flexibility to ensure reliable operations, big ship handling, efficient market reach and environmental responsibility. Please visit www.scspa.com to learn more about SC Ports.