Serving the Community for Decades
In 1986, Bluffton’s Ida Martin opened a nearly empty refrigerator in the home of a single mother with five children and immediately filled it and that’s how her dream for a better future for her community began.
Ida Martin recognized a great need that was not being met for working families and senior citizens in the area, and so began Bluffton Self Help, which was chartered a year later in October of 1988. The name Bluffton Self Help fit the organization’s mission, and it fit the woman who got it going and helped it keep pace with Bluffton’s incredible growth, particularly over the past several decades. As the town and surrounding area boomed, so did the need for emergency financial help, food, and clothing.
OUR HISTORY
Bluffton Self Help
1973
The Literacy Center was founded
The Literacy Center was founded at the Franciscan Center on St. Helena Island, where a group of Roman Catholic sisters and some concerned citizens recognized that many local children were struggling with reading and writing. As they got to know the children better, they discovered that the children’s parents faced the very same literacy challenge. What began as an effort to better the education of these children quickly evolved into the first adult literacy program in Beaufort County.
1987
Bluffton Self Help was founded
Bluffton resident Ida Martin recognized a great need that was not being met for working families and senior citizens in the area, and so began Bluffton Self Help.
2011
Bluffton Self Help moves to Sheridan Park
Bluffton Self Help moved to a new building in Sheridan Park, Bluffton from the former jail in Old Town Bluffton.
2018
Beaufort County Education & Resource Center was founded
As the Town of Bluffton continued to grow so did the need. Bluffton Self Help opened the first Beaufort County Education & Resource Center to provide a place neighbors could access computers, support with job searching, and connect with local and government resources
2019
Mobile Food Pantry was started
Bluffton Self Help got hunger relief on the move with their Mobile Food Pantry to help break down barriers of transportation. A van provided by grants through Palmetto Electric and Belfair Community Foundation.
2021
Bluffton Self Help and The Literacy Center merges
Bluffton Self Help and The Literacy Center merged in a joint effort to dramatically expand the availability of basic education and training programs in order to meet the growing needs of the economically at-risk in Beaufort and Jasper counties
2021
2nd Education & Resource Center was founded
Bluffton Self Help partnered with the City of Hardeeville and opened a second Education & Resource Center inside the Hardeeville library
2022
Resource Hub was founded
Bluffton Self Help opened the Resource Hub and assembled a team of client advocates and intake specialists to evolve our approach from transactional to relational allowing us to step in to advocate, support and guide Lowcountry residents on their journey towards self-sufficiency and thriving in their family, workplace, and community