Read the most recent news and stories from our neighbors thanks for the help of our Bluffton Self Help staff and volunteers.
Join the Team | Director of Development
Bluffton Self Help (BSH) seeks a motivated and professional individual, committed to the organization’s mission, to lead its expanding philanthropic efforts in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. The Director of Development will oversee a well-developed and robust...
Volunteer Spotlight: Cinda Bush
[divider] [image source=”https://blufftonselfhelp.org/media/uploads/cinda-250×200.jpg” alt=”” width=”250″ height=”200″ align=”right”]Cinda Bush has seen a lot of changes in her life and with Bluffton Self Help. She is one of Bluffton Self Help’s regulars and we mean “regular.” Bush has been volunteering for Bluffton Self Help for over 20 years! “I first met Mrs. Ida Martin when I needed help, years ago,” said Bush. “She was always there to help me,” Bush remembers. Mrs. Ida would call me when she received a bag of children’s clothing and say ‘you get over her and see if there is anything for your children.” That’s how she started volunteering. Cinda volunteered two days a week all those years and is currently a regular on the Friday afternoon shift. Cinda, a life-long local resident spent her early years living on the Belfair Plantation with her great-grandfather. “He raised me and two sisters,” she said. He was a farmer. Belfair, at the time Cinda lived there was owned by William Mosely Swain. Cinda remembers attending the one-room school house located on the plantation. In 1949, Cinda moved off the Belfair Plantation and attended Michael C. Riley School. Since 1985, when she wasn’t working or volunteering, she cared for her brother Jonathon who suffered from Hydrocephalus. When his mother passed, she promised to care for her brother. Cinda, with her husband’s whole-hearted approval, took him in. Jonathan died in May. Cinda, a cook by profession for thirty years, still works, earning needed income by caring for a woman three days a week who is homebound. When asked what keeps her going, she said it’s her faith. “I pray daily for the Lord to keep me strong and focused,” she said. Cinda continues to volunteer at Bluffton Self Help because of how it makes her feel. “I get a great feeling when I help someone pick out a piece of clothing they need or hand out a loaf of bread to someone who is hungry.” When Cinda has time, she relaxes in her wide open country setting, visited often by her five children and 13 great grandchildren. Cinda and her husband were married 41 years prior to his passing five years ago.
Bluffton Self Help comes to aid of pregnant woman in need
Courtesy of The Island Packet Taryn was in her second trimester when she was rushed to the emergency room with chronic pain and violent nausea. She was put on mandatory bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy and could no longer work. Struggling to pay her expenses on a limited income, Taryn called Bluffton Self Help after she received a disconnect notice from the electric company. Following the interview and verification of information, Bluffton Self Help was able to pay her electric bill to avoid an interruption of service. Family members soon arrived to help Taryn with other expenses during the remainder of her pregnancy. Bluffton Self Help provides a broad range of social services for poor working families, the disabled, the sick and the elderly.
Bluffton Self Help caps year of changes by helping more people than ever
From the Island Packet: By ALLISON STICE astice@islandpacket.com 843-706-8138 Wednesday, November 23, 2011 It’s been a year of exciting firsts at Bluffton Self Help. The group bought a new building soon after hiring executive director Lili Coleman. Founder Ida Martin, who launched the organization from her garage in 1987, received a Presidential Citizens Medal — and a hug — from President Barack Obama. But some things haven’t changed since the nonprofit agency relocated this month to Sheridan Park, in a space six times the size of its former headquarters. Bluffton Self Help is on pace to break records for the second consecutive year for the number of people it provides with food, clothing and financial assistance. The largest increase in need has been groceries, with 29 percent more people receiving food from January through October compared to the same time last year, for a total of 11,056 people, according to board president Peter Bromley. The demand has been so great that the group now distributes food twice on Wednesdays — once in the mornings, as it traditionally has, and again from 4 to 6 p.m. That’s in addition to its other regular food days on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. More than 150 people might ask for the food delivered by Second Helpings on a typical day. “We discovered some workers couldn’t stand in line in the mornings, but they still needed to put food on the table,” Coleman said of adding the Wednesday afternoon slot. The need for emergency financial assistance increased by 10 percent, to 793 people, for the first 10 months of the year over last year. About 6,244 people have received clothing from the organization, an increase of 16 percent from the same time last year, Bromley said. “There were some concerns when we moved to a new location that people might have a hard time finding us,” Bromley said. “We closed our doors in the old building on a Friday, opened up in a new building on a Monday and haven’t skipped a beat.” The group plans to launch projects in the new building aimed at making people who need its help more self-reliant. Coleman said Bluffton Self Help is in talks with The Deep Well Project — a Hilton Head Island-based, nonprofit social services agency — to offer classes and programs ranging from nutrition to using coupons. Coleman also is an expert at helping clients apply for state benefits, Bromley said. The organization has needs of its own. It is still paying off the new building, which was purchased with money from grants, foundations and a capital campaign drive. It needs to raise another $170,000 to pay off renovations and begin a utility endowment, Bromley said. Its greatest need is for volunteers, especially as it takes on a toy drive for children 17 and under in Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties, Coleman said. Read more: http://www.islandpacket.com/2011/11/23/1874016/bluffton-self-help-caps-year-of.html#ixzz1exNRFkAL
Bluffton Self Help Acquires New Building Agency Will Move to New Location in Early November
Bluffton, SC, July 18, 2011—The calls come in daily. Some people have recently suffered from a health emergency or accident. There are clients who have recently lost their jobs and their utility bill is due. Their new job won’t start in time to pay the rent and utilities. Other people need fans to deal with the heat because their health is in danger. There are mothers who have to work and are seeking affordable child care. Other people paid all their bills, leaving no money to feed their children. School is starting soon and there is no money for uniforms and basic supplies. These people live in Bluffton and they turn to Bluffton Self Help. The need continues to grow, so it’s time for Bluffton Self Help to grow too. Bluffton Self Help showcased their new larger facility at a special media and donor event held on Monday, July 18. The new building site is located at 39 Sheridan Drive, off Highway 278 in Sheridan Park. This new facility will offer expanded services to the more than 22,000 clients who received food, clothing and emergency financial assistance in 2010. The agency expects to move their operations into the soon-to-be-renovated location by early November. “Having just closed on our new building, we are now one giant step closer to bringing this very important community project to reality,” said Peter Bromley, president of the board, Bluffton Self Help. “We are very excited to preview our new building at our separate Media and Donor events on July 18th , and to officially launch Phase Two of our Building Campaign to raise another $300,000 for renovation and for a 10-year utility endowment.” Renovation on the building begins immediately. Once the renovation is completed the new facility will offer: • A large area for both food and clothing distribution, with the possible addition of more food distribution days.
• A much larger pantry so that food doesn’t have to be stored off-site after generous food drives
• Three private interview areas and the opportunity to offer Benefit Bank…an on-line processing service to file for eligibility on state and local programs such as SNAP (food stamps), child care assistance, educational grants, Federal tax return filing, medical assistance for medication and equipment, educational grants, income assistance and voter registration.
• A loading dock with separate entrance for the Second Helping and other delivery trucks. This larger area will also make it possible for Bluffton Self Help to participate with the local food bank, offering a considerable savings in providing food and supplies to clients.
• Storage space for off-season clothing and holiday toys
• A multi-purpose meeting and training room to offer budgeting and benefit information
• Ample parking for clients and volunteers “These improvements are not “nice-to-have” improvements but are very much a necessity,” explained Bromley. “At the current site, clients are lining up in the summer heat during food distribution days, food delivery trucks have limited space to drop off food and there is cramped space for conducting day-to-day business.” These are just a few of the challenges the current location poses. Once the renovation is completed, Bluffton Self Help will host a Grand Open House to offer other donors, community leaders and clients the opportunity to share in the celebration. Until the move, Bluffton Self Help, a United Way agency, is located at 1264 May River Drive near Downtown Bluffton. It’s business as usual. For more information contact Lili Coleman at 843-757-8000 or visit blufftonselfhelp.org ### Other suggested stories on the new facility: • More volunteers needed for the new location.
• Peter Bromley and the building committee, who are they?
• Ida Martin…Watching her mission grow.
• Bluffton Self Help has a wish list for the new building.
• No Mortgage…how did that happen? Just call us for more information!!!
Ben
Ben had never asked for help. After twenty-five years of working for the same firm, he had a car accident while on company business. Between medical treatments resulting from the accident, physical therapy, disagreements and delays with Workman’s Compensation, and no income, Ben’s rainy day fund was running dangerously low. Members of his church tried to help by hiring him for odd jobs, but it just wasn’t enough to keep his family of four children afloat. BSH paid his rent for one month. Luckily he found employment shortly thereafter, and Ben has actually become a BSH donor! Bluffton Self Help provides a broad range of human services for poor working families, the disabled, sick and elderly. Donations FROM our community fund services TO our community. To donate to Bluffton Self Help’s fundraising campaign, which supports the organization’s charitable activities, mail contributions to BSH, PO Box 2420, Bluffton, SC 29910, or drop by 1264 May River Road in Bluffton.