Each year, the Kiawah-Seabrook Exchange Club awards grants and scholarships to organizations in the Lowcountry whose mission is to help the citizens of Johns and Wadmalaw Island. This year’s award ceremony, held November 6 at the Seabrook Island Club, was a celebration of the great work being done by these organizations for the community. Recipient organizations are identified by Club members in five categories and organizations are vetted in detail, and in many cases, club members conduct on-site visits with the organizations prior to making the awards. It’s not unusual for the relationship between the organizations and Club members to extend beyond the grant, with Club members providing counsel and serving on the boards of various organizations.
Since the program was launched, the Club has granted nearly $2.5 million to organizations supporting Johns and Wadmalaw Island, with about $1.25 million distributed in the past ten years.
The following are this year’s award recipients for each category:
Community Service/Hunger and Mentoring
- Backpack Buddies
- Next Steps-Johns Island High School
- Blessings Basket
- Meals on Mondays
- Sea Island Cares
- Bridges to End of Life
- Sweetgrass Garden
- Fields to Family
- Charleston Area Senior Services
- Hebron-Zion Food Pantry
- Hebron-Zion Senior Outreach
- AMOR Kitchen
Community Service/Health
- Barrier Islands Free Medical Clinic
- Camp Happy Days
- Charleston Therapeutic Riding
- OLM Outreach
- Respite Care
- Habitat for Humanity
- Water Wellness
- Waterproofing
Child Abuse/Prevention
- Dee Norton Advocacy Center
- Florence Crittenden Programs of South Carolina
- Lowcountry Orphan Relief (LOR)
- HALOS
Youth and Education
- Begin with Books Palmetto Project
- B.O.O.T. Camp/Johns Island Parish
- Camp Hi Hopes
- Charleston Collegiate STEM Wonderlab
- Communities in Schools
- Charleston Symphony Orchestra
- Junior Achievement of Greater South Carolina
- Mt. Zion Elementary – various school projects
Americanism
- Vets on Deck
- Stand Down Against Homelessness
- Friends of the Fisher House
- Seabrook Island Veterans Day Golf Outing
In addition to the grants, the Club awarded nearly $17,000 to scholarships and student grants at the event.
Representatives from recipient organizations attended the event and were recognized for the significant contribution that they make to the quality of life on Johns and Wadmalaw Island.
The Kiawah-Seabrook Exchange Club is a service organization committed to community enrichment through the support and development of programs that focus on the prevention of child abuse, youth development, and education, Americanism, and community outreach.
-Submitted by Thad Peterson