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Making a difference … from the shadows
Making a DifferenceMaking a Difference … IN THE SHADOWS
Foundation seeks support to meet basic human needs
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story by Brett McLaughlin
Volunteers such as these have been delivering thousands of extra meals during the pandemic. It is an effort made possible, in part, by additional funding from The Community Foundation of Greater Clemson.
Its stated mission is to “improve the quality of life for all people living in the Clemson area.” But, what if The Community Foundation of Greater Clemson actually contributed to lifesaving efforts? What if it already has?
Ms. Nix didn’t answer her door when a pair of Pickens County Meals on Wheels volunteers arrived. She didn’t answer her phone when they tried to call.
They had been trained to assume she wasn’t home and report her absence for staff followup. But, today was different. Something felt wrong. They knocked again and listened. The
TV was on. The door was unlocked so they entered, identifying that they were with Meals on Wheels. Hearing a murmur they searched the home and found Ms. Nix lying on the floor beside her bed. She was unable to speak clearly.
One volunteer called 911 while the other held her hand and placed a pillow under her head.
Firemen and EMS arrived, and Ms. Nix lived.
“Our home delivery program is much more than a meal,” said Pickens County Meals on
Wheels Executive Director Kim Valentine.
“More importantly, our volunteers act as a lifeline for our senior neighbors. Each meal delivered provides security, comfort, dignity and, most of all, the knowledge that someone cares.”
There may be no direct correlation between the saving of an elderly woman’s life and
The Community Foundation of Greater
Clemson. However, there also is no denying that through its efforts, The Foundation is impacting lives in its community in ways that often go overlooked.
In the case of PCMOW, a Foundation grant enabled the program’s efforts to eliminate a 140-meal applicant waiting list when COVID-19 struck. By partnering with sources such as The Foundation, meal production increased from 4,500 meals per month to 10,000 per month.
“The support we have received during
COVID has been such a blessing for our organization,” Valentine said. “The
Community Foundation of Greater Clemson reached out to PCMOW and asked ‘How can we help?’ Then, The Foundation helped fund 13,000 meal trays.”
Similarly, when Littlejohn Community
Center’s Young at Heart center was forced to close because of the pandemic in mid-March,
The Foundation jumped in with funds to provide meals for students in their homes and by means of drive-thru facilities in Liberty and Central.
Dayle Stewart, assistant director of Rebuild
Upstate, said her agency has also benefited from the generosity of The Community
Foundation of Greater Clemson.
“We had an elderly, disabled person who
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{at top} Literally hundreds of meals were prepared and delivered throughout the greater Clemson area during the pandemic; an effort made possible with additional funding from The Community Foundation of Greater Clemson.
{above} As important as providing meals is, the contact made by Pickens County Meals on Wheels volunteers enhances the lives of their clients.
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couldn’t get out to see family or friends or even go to the doctor,” Stewart said. “They were literally locked in their own home. There were safety issues, to say nothing of simply having lost any social connections.”
A Foundation grant funded a ramp built by Rebuild Upstate volunteers.
Having the flexibility to respond to these types of needs is among the goals Foundation leaders have identified as they seek to enhance the community’s awareness of their efforts.
The Clemson Community Foundation was launched in 2013, as a project of Leadership Clemson, and was inspired by successes of community foundations in other cities and unmet funding needs in the Clemson area. From its inception, it has worked to promote local philanthropy and volunteerism, and to establish longterm sources of financial and human support to address needs in the greater Clemson area.
It has, however, often been an uphill effort.
Foundation funding made opening satellite meal sites possible for Littlejohn Community Center during this year’s pandemic.
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“We labor in the shadow of the university,” acknowledged Bill D’Andrea, The Foundation’s executive director. “Because the university is here, people think we don’t have homelessness, or people who can’t pay their rent or don’t have enough food to eat, or children who are abused.
“We do have all those things; the good people who started this foundation wanted to help, and they still do,” he continued. “We all want Clemson to live up to its promise for all its citizens.”
Kelly Durham, chairman of The Foundation board, explained that for several years the organization had a website presence, a part-time secretary and gave out grants to various agencies. In 2018, however, the decision was made to try and raise the organization’s profile. That’s when they reached out to D’Andrea, the retired CEO of IPTAY, the fundraising arm of Clemson Athletics, which he directed for 12 years.
D’Andrea came on board in January 2019. Simultaneously, the organization sought to broaden its borders by incorporating “Greater Clemson” in its official name and initiated other efforts to become a “one-stop shop” for non-profits and other charitable programs in the area.
With D’Andrea at the helm, Durham said a grant application, selection and delivery process has been created with a minimum goal of distributing $25,000 plus a percent of The Foundation’s earned income each year.
Annual gifts are being established, estate giving is being promoted and the means to develop targeted giving is taking shape. A charitable investment fund is earning compounding returns establishing a “foundation” of funds to serve the community into the future.
A promotional piece provided by The Foundation makes a case for building that fund: “The sooner we have the money in the investment fund, the sooner we will have a stable source of money to use to continue to care for the Clemson area.”
“We want to drive solutions to problems,” D’Andrea said. “We want to be nimble and to be proactive and not reactive in our responses to community needs.
“We do have a grand vision to make The Community Foundation of Greater Clemson impactful and to leave this place a better place … to have a lasting impact on the lives of everyone who lives here.”
MORE ABOUT THE BENEFACTORS
The Community Foundation of Great Clemson provides assistance to many organizations seeking to provide basic human needs. Here is more information on two that are mentioned in the accompanying story.
Originally called Tigers Go, Rebuild Upstate began in August 2006 when founder Chris Manley and other Clemson University students saw a need to assist disaster relief and rebuilding work in the New Orleans metro area postKatrina.
By the start of 2007, word had spread that there were a lot of locals willing to volunteer, and a request came in to repair a home in the Clemson area. That January what is now Rebuild Upstate was born and incorporated.
By 2011, Rebuild Upstate was serving exclusively in Upstate South Carolina. Since then, over 900 homes in Anderson, Greenville, Oconee and Pickens counties have been repaired by more than 7,000 volunteers.
During the pandemic, Pickens County Meals on Wheels increased its production from 4,500 meals per month to 10,000 meals per month. The organization is now serving 340 homebound seniors in Pickens County, delivering meals on a 3-day cycle. On Monday and Wednesday clients receive one hot meal and one frozen meal, and on Friday they receive one hot meal. For five months this past spring and summer, clients received two frozen weekend meals each Friday.
Every meal recipient receives a call twice each week to ensure their safety and to verify they have their meal or if they have other needs.
Recent new additions to the program increased food costs by $54,000.
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Towards that end, The Foundation provided $31,000 through 22 grants during a recent grant cycle. Those funds assisted with drug prevention and diversion, childcare, assistance to sexual assault victims, rent payments, home repairs, construction of a playground and enhancements to the privacy and safety of domestic assault victims.
“The Foundation exists to offer support,” D’Andrea said. “By using our money, staff and resources to support local charities, they are freed to specialize in their missions to provide food, education, medical care, shelter and other needed essentials.” n
To learn more about how you can contribute funding or volunteer your services to The Community Foundation of Greater Clemson, visit: www.cfgcsc.org, call 864.903. 3602 or email: info@ ClemsonCommunityFoundation. org.
CFGC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Volunteers such as these complete many repair and remodel projects through Rebuild Upstate. These pictures show homeowners freed from their confinement thanks to funding from The Community Foundation of Greater Clemson.
{bottom left} Providing basic home repairs such as this renovated bath is among the projects undertaken by Rebuild Upstate.
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