Category: Fundraisers

$100,000 SIHAF Challenge Opportunity


Generous supporters of the Sea Islands Hunger Awareness Foundation (SIHAF) have offered to match year-end donations up to a total of $100,000.  Your help is needed to maximize this opportunity!

The needs of our neighbors on Johns and Wadmalaw Islands have been increasing rapidly. The Blessing Basket program alone has been registering four to six new client families per month for the three bags of groceries, produce and meat it provides to client households on the second Saturday of the month. And the cost of providing each bag has increased substantially during the year.

Your donation of any amount by December 31, 2022 will be doubled, up to a total of $100,000, and enable SIHAF to continue its efforts to provide nutritious food and clean water to our neighbors in need during 2023. 

You can donate by check made out to Sea Islands Hunger Awareness Foundation (SIHAF) and mailed to PO Box 268, Johns Island, SC 29457-0268.  You can also donate via credit or debit card at fightislandhunger.org. Thank you!

SIHAF is a 501c3 non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible.

-Submitted by Jada Phillips for SIHAF

(Image credit: fightislandhunger.org)

Reminder: SJFD Stuff-A-Truck for Families in Need

St John’s Fire District (SJFD) Firefighters still need our help to “Stuff-A-Truck” this holiday season.

Captain Steve Mantie has compiled wish lists from each of the children the SJFD is supporting this holiday. Please consider supporting a child (or family) this holiday by purchasing an item or two from their wish lists. If you want to help, please email Captain Mantie at s.mantie@stjfd.org by December 12 and he will send a copy of a wish list directly to you.

Donations, including monetary, are accepted at any SJFD Fire Station
from now through December 20.

A listing of all station locations can be found here.

For questions, contact:
Captain Stephen Mantie
s.mantie@stjfd.org
843-559-9194

–Tidelines Editors

(Image credit: stjfd.org)

Reminder: SJFD Stuff-A-Truck for Families in Need

Let’s help St. John’s Fire District (SJFD) Firefighters
“Stuff-A-Truck”
to help families in need.

Please donate:
New unwrapped toys (infant – teen)
New clothes (infant – teen)
Diapers and wipes

Donations, including monetary, are accepted at any SJFD Fire Station
from now through December 20.
Station Two is on Seabrook Island
at 3026 Cap’n Sams Road.

A listing of all station locations can be found here.

For questions, contact:
Captain Stephen Mantie
843-559-9194

–Tidelines Editors

(Image credit: stjfd.org)

Reminder: Holiday Canned Food Drive at The Lake House

7th Annual SIPOA Holiday Canned Food Drive
November 1 – December 10
Goal – 7,000 pounds

Seabrookers contributed almost 5,500 pounds of food items last year! Currently, we have contributed over 3,034 pounds!

One way to make the holiday celebrations even more meaningful is to help our neighbors in need on Johns and Wadmalaw Islands. When you go grocery shopping, please purchase a couple of extra cans of food, or even better, multi-packs of canned food items, for distribution to the clients of the Sea Islands Hunger Awareness Foundation (SIHAF). Protein items like hearty or chunky soups, stews, chili, corned beef hash, tuna, and canned chicken, as well as canned vegetables and fruit, are especially appreciated. No glass or out-of-date items, please.

Donations and contributions can be brought to The Lake House lobby. Place your items in the bin under the New Donations sign behind the column.

All donations will be weighed before they are picked up. Grocery bags with handles are still needed and can be dropped off along with your food donations.

Together, we CAN fight hunger, one meal at a time!

-Submitted by The Lake House

Project Playhouse Build

Sea Island Habitat for Humanity will be hosting a Project Playhouse Build on Saturday, December 3, 2022.  They are looking for members of the community to help build playhouses for deserving children in the area.


Six teams are needed to help build 6 playhouses. Each wooden playhouse is custom-made to the likes and interests of a child or children in our community. These families qualify as low-income and due to financial restraints would be unable to provide a gift like this for the holidays. Help make a kid’s holiday season memorable by building them an incredible playhouse!

If you can’t participate in the event, please consider donating to Sea Island Habitat for Humanity.  Please click here for more information about donating your time and/or talent.

-Submitted by Josie Spa, Communications & Outreach Manager

Holiday Canned Food Drive at The Lake House

7th Annual SIPOA Holiday Canned Food Drive
November 1 – December 10
Goal – 7,000 pounds

Seabrookers contributed almost 5,500 pounds of food items last year! Currently, we have contributed over 1,100 pounds!

One way to make the holiday celebrations even more meaningful is to help our neighbors in need on Johns and Wadmalaw Islands. When you go grocery shopping, please purchase a couple of extra cans of food, or even better, multi-packs of canned food items, for distribution to the clients of the Sea Islands Hunger Awareness Foundation (SIHAF). Protein items like hearty or chunky soups, stews, chili, corned beef hash, tuna, and canned chicken, as well as canned vegetables and fruit, are especially appreciated. No glass or out-of-date items, please.

Donations and contributions can be brought to The Lake House lobby. Place your items in the bin under the New Donations sign behind the column.

All donations will be weighed before they are picked up. Grocery bags with handles are still needed and can be dropped off along with your food donations.

Together, we CAN fight hunger, one meal at a time!

-Submitted by The Lake House

Charitable Giving

At this time of year, when most of us are giving thanks and counting our blessings, we become all the more aware that there are so many people in need, both locally and globally, and that charities are crying out for help.

But did you know that, if you are at the age where you are required to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) from your IRAs, there is a win-win option that benefits both you and the charity? By donating part (or all) of your RMD directly to charity, the taxable portion of your RMD is reduced by the amount donated. This is called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD).

To make this happen you need to provide your financial institution or tax advisor with information about your charity (name, address, EIN number) and the amount you want to donate. Some of the larger financial institutions allow you to do all of this online. The institution will then write a check directly to the charity of your choice and you will be entitled to the deduction. Note, it must be a registered charity.

Be sure to keep records of how much you donate to charities via QCDs during the year! You should be aware that the 1099-R you receive for your IRA after the end of the year will not show the QCD portion of your distribution separately. But don’t be alarmed. There is a line on the tax return (and on the tax software) to enter the appropriate amount from your records to ensure you get the deduction.

Most, but not all, IRAs qualify for this program. Contact your tax advisor or financial institution for complete information. Please click here to go to the IRS website for more information.

Not old enough to have RMDs or choose not to donate from them? If you are among the few people who still itemize deductions on tax returns, charitable deductions are still available to you as a way of reducing your tax liability. Although there was a small deduction available in 2020 and 2021 to all taxpayers who do not itemize, as of the time of writing this, it has not been extended to 2022.

Happy Thanksgiving! Perhaps we can all find a way to do more giving when there is a way to benefit both the charity and ourselves.

-Submitted by Tax-Aide Volunteer

Holiday Canned Food Drive at The Lake House

7th Annual SIPOA Holiday Canned Food Drive
November 1 – December 10
Goal – 7,000 pounds

Seabrookers contributed almost 6,000 pounds of food items last year!

One way to make the holiday celebrations even more meaningful is to help our neighbors in need on Johns and Wadmalaw Islands. When you go grocery shopping, please purchase a couple of extra cans of food, or even better, multi-packs of canned food items, for distribution to the clients of the Sea Islands Hunger Awareness Foundation (SIHAF). Protein items like hearty or chunky soups, stews, chili, corned beef hash, tuna, and canned chicken, as well as canned vegetables and fruit, are especially appreciated. No glass or out-of-date items, please.

Donations and contributions can be brought to The Lake House lobby. Place your items in the bin under the New Donations sign behind the column.

All donations will be weighed before they are picked up. Grocery bags with handles are still needed and can be dropped off along with your food donations.

Together, we CAN fight hunger, one meal at a time!

-Submitted by The Lake House

SIHAF Announces $100,000 Hunger Awareness Challenge

The Sea Islands Hunger Awareness Foundation (SIHAF) is very thankful to the awesome loyal donors who have generously offered to match our $100,000 – 2022 Hunger Awareness Challenge! As we approach the season of Giving…Thanksgiving, we hope you will join us in raising awareness, and much needed funds to support our programs and partners in our quest to provide nutritious food and clean water to our sea island neighbors. This is the foundation’s only fundraising event of the year and we need the entire community’s support.

Awareness is our “middle name” and we’d like to make you aware of some important Hunger Facts:

  • SIHAF programs and partners serve only Johns and Wadmalaw Islands’ residents.
  • SIHAF programs and partners provide nutritious food to 2,000 sea island neighbors who deal with hunger every day, via meals, groceries including thousands of pounds of fresh produce, and clean water to over 250 homes!
  • SIHAF programs and partners must buy nearly all of the food provided to our neighbors in need. With food prices skyrocketing, every monetary donation can make a big difference.
  • SIHAF is an all-volunteer organization that lifts up those in need. Over 100 volunteers, including nine board members, give their time, talent and treasure to secure, sort, pack and distribute food to our clients. ALL donations go toward fighting island hunger. 

Please help us reach our goal of $200,000 so we can continue to provide our programs in 2023 to our sea island neighbors in need.

To donate by check, mail it to: 
Sea Islands Hunger Awareness Foundation (SIHAF)
PO Box 268
Johns Island, SC 29457-0268

To donate by credit or debit card go to: fightislandhunger.org

SIHAF is a 501c3 non-profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

-Submitted by Jada Phillips

(Image credit: fightislandhunger.org)

SJFD Stuff-A-Truck for Families in Need

Let’s help St. John’s Fire District (SJFD) Firefighters
“Stuff-A-Truck”
to help families in need.

Please donate:
New unwrapped toys (infant – teen)
New clothes (infant – teen)
Diapers and wipes

Donations, including monetary, are accepted at any SJFD Fire Station
from now through December 20.
Station Two is on Seabrook Island
at 3026 Cap’n Sams Road.

A listing of all station locations can be found here.

For questions, contact:
Captain Stephen Mantie
843-559-9194

–Tidelines Editors

(Image credit: stjfd.org)

SIGSC Celebrates 22 years of Conservation

The Seabrook Island Green Space Conservancy (SIGSC) welcomed over 100 enthusiastic supporters on November 3 to celebrate 22 years of preservation and advocacy.  Over that time, SIGSC has conserved 42 properties totaling more than 30 acres of land on Seabrook Island.  

Conserved properties belong to all Seabrookers and are protected in perpetuity. The most recent property was just added to conserved lands last week. The mission of SIGSC is to facilitate the preservation of substantial green space, habitats for our vast wildlife species and the natural beauty of our island.

These properties are acquired through property and financial donations. In exciting news, Meg Carter, President of SIGSC, announced that these conserved spaces will be marked with permanent signage in the coming months.

 In support of this mission, Charley Moore, accomplished photographer, nature lover, and author of Seabrook Island, South Carolina Green Spaces and Wildlife, made a few remarks about the importance of conservation to the Seabrook Island community.  For a minimum donation of $250, you can receive a signed copy of the book with a special Green Space insert.  For a minimum donation of $100, you can receive two special Green Space Oyster Knives to use at the SIGSC Oyster Roast scheduled for Saturday, March 11, 2023. Donations can be made via our website www.sigsc.net or by mailing a check to SIGSC, 130 Gardeners Circle, PMB 521, Seabrook Island, SC 29455.

-Submitted by Susan Leggett