For many families, summer means a stretched budget. When it comes to keeping children happy and occupied amid the escalating cost of living, many families are feeling the pinch like never before.
Families with children, already more likely to live in poverty, face both schools being closed for summer and higher utility bills. With children out of school for the summer, parents now must stretch their budget to cover the costs of lunch, snacks, and childcare all summer long.
Three months is a long stretch for families who rely on school meals. Many of these families are already worried about where their next meal is coming from. Working families across the Lowcountry face countless situations that can result in food insecurity and hunger — falling ill, lay-offs at work, unexpected car maintenance, or an accident.
“I live within my means as much as I can. I have all the basics, but I really struggle. Food especially. It has gone up to about $200 a month. I try not to think about it, but the reality is that I only have about $20 left a week to live on. But everything has gone up. So many of my friends have told me their rent has gone up this year. I just hope that doesn’t happen to me because I don’t know what we will do.” – BSH Neighbor, single parent
Bluffton Self Help is a lifeline for neighbors living paycheck to paycheck. The Market provides weekly healthy groceries, The Clothing Closet helps adults feel confident at their next interview and children have appropriate clothing that fits without tears or stains. Our Emergency Financial Assistance program help families keep the lights on and remain safe in their home. All these programs help stretch budgets and stabilize a household to bring them from crisis to self-sufficiency.
We’re not only providing groceries, clothing, and Emergency Financial Assistance but we work together with the family to figure out what other basic needs they may need — and we’re only able to do that by creating relationships with our neighbors. Our Client Advocates work one-on-one with neighbors to build a safety net of resources, both through BSH and throughout the community, that will bring them from surviving to thriving.
1. Spread awareness. The best way you can help us is to let neighbors know about us. You never know who could use our services. Connect with us on social media or check out our website to learn about all the ways we help neighbors on their path to success.
2. Hold a Stock-the-Van Event in your neighborhood. Rally all your neighbors together to help stock the van and stop hunger in our community. Connect with janet@blufftonselfhelp.org for more information or click here to register your event.
3. Donate financially. Check out our Drive Tool Kit for fun and creative ideas to get anyone involved in giving back – turn that neighborhood lemonade stand into food for a Lowcountry family.
Every dollar helps.
$29 – Can help feed a family for an entire month.
$100 – Can stock The Market with milk for a day.
$500 – Helps to keep the lights on for a neighbor in crisis.
$1,200 – Supports an adult student for an entire year in one of our ESL, GED, or Citizenship classes.
