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Window Restoration Service Opportunity
Stuart Cochrane helped to restore a window on the education building in November. Other windows in need of restoration have since been claimed by individuals from the men's bible study. If you would be willing to help with the scraping, reglazing, and painting of a window or tackling another project at the church, please get in touch with Rob McCready, (203) 921-7804.
Volunteer Opportunities - December 2020
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Volunteer Opportunities - November 2020
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The clothes closet at Memminger Elementary is all stocked! Thank you to all who donated to help meet this need. Praise be to God!
Volunteer Opportunities - October 2020
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Volunteer Opportunities - September 2020
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Find out about service opportunities for those experiencing homelessness
Interested in serving those in Charleston experiencing homelessness?
Please fill out the form below to be notified about donation and service opportunities.
“We are called by God to work together for the glory of His Kingdom, in small ways and in large ways. We must work together to promote justice and equity for all, to treat each other with respect and dignity, to lend a helpful hand to those in need, to live the life of service God calls us to. It has been a blessing to share in that mission with my Second Family for many years and I look forward to it for many years to come.”
-Cathy
a sense of purpose through service
The photo of Caleigh begins our adventure as she gets ready to go.
Hello Second Family,
How we miss you all and long for the day when we will be able to worship and serve together again. There are many of you who are new members and you do not know me or my daughter, Meredith, but you will when this is over and we resume worship together. I’ll be calling on you for service at Tea Room in the Spring. We are so happy that you have chosen to be a part of our Second Family and I look forward to meeting each of you.
After a wonderful conversation with Cress, he asked that I share with you a mission opportunity that Meredith and I have been enjoying for several weeks. Through Second’s weekly mailing, I discovered an invitation to serve those experiencing homelessness in the area who have been exposed to COVID-19. My first concern was how does one serve without fear of exposure to self? So Meredith and I talked and decided to see if it fit our criteria for safety and for being of service. We discovered that it is the easiest and one of the safest ways to serve.
The City of Charleston provides food delivery to the homeless population affected by the virus and they need volunteer drivers to deliver the food. There is a central pickup location and 2 delivery locations. This experience of simple joy takes about an hour of our time, such a small sacrifice. Armed with masks and a cheerful attitude, we have found our way to be of service without worry. We have been delivering food once a week for the the past month and have been so blessed by this simple act of service. Meredith and I are so anxious to get going on Wednesday morning, loading Caleigh into the car, and heading into town, knowing that we will make a difference for someone in need. It helps us to make sense of what is going on around us. Instead of feeling helpless and useless, we have a sense of purpose, small but mighty!
We have discovered other ways to serve as well, as one of our delivery locations is the Navigation Center that helps to transition those currently experiencing homelessness to housing and jobs, or just to provide a place of security and basic needs. They accept all donations of clothing and toiletry items, feminine hygiene products; all of these very small ways to help someone feel valued and not forgotten.
I would encourage any of you who want a safe way to serve to consider this opportunity. You can get all the pertinent information here or from the church office or through the City of Charleston Department of Housing and Community Development. If anyone would like to talk to me (Cathy) or to Meredith, please feel free to call.
We are called by God to work together for the glory of His Kingdom, in small ways and in large ways. We must work together to promote justice and equity for all, to treat each other with respect and dignity, to lend a helpful hand to those in need, to live the life of service God calls us to. It has been a blessing to share in that mission with my Second Family for many years and I look forward to it for many years to come.
Missing you all and praying for good health and safety for each of you!
Blessings,
Cathy and Meredith
Our first stop is for food pickup at One80Place where cheerful staff load our deliveries.
Then we are off to make our first delivery at the Navigation Center where we have discovered a more extensive mission.
So many people are served by the Navigation Center and this gentleman is one who graciously agreed to be photographed.
They are all so grateful for any help given. Our last stop is a local motel housing homeless COVID patients.
The Navigation Center serves to help transition those in Charleston experiencing homelessness into housing. That means starting a household from the ground up. They accept all donations: clothing, toiletries, feminine hygiene products, any household items, furniture, etc. Meredith and I dropped off our first donations today. We are so blessed to be able to help.
We were so excited to discover this opportunity in our Second Snapshot. Maybe some of you will consider donations to the Navigation Center or to volunteer with the City’s efforts to help those experiencing homelessness. When volunteering to deliver meals with the City, food is left at the door and no contact is required. Meredith and I have, however, had brief introductions to some of our recipients, at a safe social distance.
Simple ways but BIG REWARDS. God gives us ways to serve that we never expected. He just asks us to SERVE, to be His Light to the world.
-Cathy
We discovered that it is the easiest and one of the safest ways to serve.
It helps us to make sense of what is going on around us. Instead of feeling helpless and useless, we have a sense of purpose, small but mighty!
Hands of Christ
This year, Second Presbyterian Church will support a contactless distribution of Hands of Christ, supporting downtown/peninsula elementary and middle school students, after school resumes for the 2020-2021 year. We’ll need volunteers to help arrange for delivery at area schools as well as picking up bagged orders of school clothing and supplies at Westminster Church in West Ashley and delivering the bags to area schools. Please sign up below if you are interested in helping. Thank you!
Next Monday and Tuesday, we would normally be welcoming hundreds of children and their families to Second Presbyterian in the loving hand-to-hand distribution of Hands of Christ. With the challenge of COVID-19 this year, we are adapting our model to ensure safety and appropriate social distancing. Hands of Christ has faced several challenges this year, the greatest of which has not been the need to provide contactless distribution. In a normal year, the organization would have purchased enough clothing to donate 10,000 pairs of pants, polo shirts, pairs of underwear and socks. This spring, the global supply chain has been at a virtual stand-still, so it was impossible to source the clothing to host a traditional distribution—even if we could have worked through the challenges of a face-to-face event. Thankfully, with a small order of available clothing and a generous back-stock in the storage facility at Westminster Church, we will be able to serve 2,000 Charleston County school children with one uniform, a pair of underwear, socks and school supplies.
To meet the needs of social distancing and safety for our most vulnerable population, we will be receiving orders from Charleston County elementary and middle schools for up to 40 children per school. Hands of Christ operations team members will fill the orders at Westminster Church on Sam Rittenberg Blvd. in West Ashley and seal them in paper bags. Volunteers from Second will be asked to support the downtown/peninsula schools, picking up the bags and driving them to the schools, where staff will be distribute them to the children. Based on prior years’ activity, we may be asked to support up to 9 locations.
The timeline has not been finalized; but once schools reopen, we will begin to receive orders. We anticipate needing volunteers during the fall, but everything will depend on how quickly the process falls into place. Depending on the number children identified at each school, we may need 2 volunteers to assist with each order. Bags will be filled only after Second communicates with the school and arranges for a delivery date. We may need help communicating with the schools as well as picking up and delivering the bags of clothing. Optimally, pick up will occur in the afternoon, as Westminster will be busy with their own church activity during the day. Delivery will take place the following school day, based on timing at Westminster and the availability of staff at the school to receive and distribute the clothing. Hands of Christ will develop guidelines for pickup and delivery, which could include masks, gloves and hand sanitizer. Delivery will likely take place outside of the school, to prevent contact between the volunteers and school staff & children. Even though some of the details are still fluid, the Charleston County School District has agreed with these general guidelines and is extremely grateful for our support.
While this will be a very different year for Hands of Christ, we are blessed to have the resources to provide support for our neighboring school children; and the personal delivery, church-to-school, can help foster a closer relationship between our Church and area schools. If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up or contact David Savard for more specifics and he will let you know when the process begins. We anticipate needing volunteers during September and October, but the timeline may change based on receipt of information from the schools and time to complete the orders.
Thank you for your support of Hands of Christ and this vital mission of Second Presbyterian.
UPDATE: More clothing items requested for donation! Find out more here →
Volunteer Opportunities - August 2020
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Volunteer Opportunities - July 2020
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Meal Delivery Volunteer Opportunity
We need volunteers to help care for our neighbors struggling with homelessness right now. A volunteer driver is needed for each day of the week to pick up and deliver meals for both options described below. Please consider volunteering. You can contact (Cathy) or to Meredith for more information.
1. The City is partnering with DHEC to support COVID positive individuals who are homeless to isolate in hotel while they convalesce. MUSC is partnering to provide meals for individuals in isolation but volunteer drivers are needed to deliver those meals. Currently 3 meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are all picked up from the 'horseshoe' driveway in front of MUSC's main entrance around 8am. The meals are then delivered to a hotel in North Charleston on North Rivers Avenue. Volunteers will not directly interact with participants but will simply knock and leave the food at the door for the participant to retrieve.
2. The City is also partnering with a hotel downtown Charleston to shelter individuals who are homeless and have tested negative for COVID-19, in an effort to provide additional protections from community exposure. Individuals are provided with regular case management support to help them transition to permanent housing. One80 Place is partnering to provide meals for these individuals but volunteer drivers are needed to deliver the meals. Currently 3 meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are all picked up from the One80 Place around 10:30am. The meals are then delivered to the various participant's rooms at the downtown hotel.
The City contact is Christopher Jardin at jardinc@charleston-sc.gov or call 843.607.8570 for more information.
Find out more about the specifics of serving in this way here.
ONE80 PLACE
One80 Place is in need of volunteers! If you are healthy and able, please sign up and help serve those who need us most right now!
Sign up here: one80place.volunteerhub.com/
Or donate to meet their "need of the week".
Wish list: one80place.org/wish-list/
Find it on Amazon: bit.ly/Wish-List-One80
Find it at Walmart: bit.ly/2NSDx7O
Dee Norton Volunteer Opportunities
The Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center relies on volunteers to help achieve their mission to prevent abuse, protect children and heal families. Volunteers are key to providing a child-friendly and welcoming environment for children and families who come to the Center. There are many ways for individuals to become involved through their volunteer opportunities. Find out more here.
Source: /missions
Habitat for Humanity 2019-2020
There are volunteer opportunities to join the Habitat build in North Charleston beginning August 15th. The “Faith Build” is an opportunity to put your faith and love into action to assure that a decent, affordable home is ready for a Habitat family. We’re blessed to have Charleston Habitat for Humanity working right here in our community helping low-income families achieve their dream of homeownership.
Habitat homes are built primarily with volunteer labor. No experience is necessary to build! The build continues Wednesdays through Saturdays through October. If you can’t volunteer all day you can choose either the morning or afternoon shift.
Check the Volunteer Calendar for available dates. All volunteers must complete an online Volunteer Application and Volunteer Waiver of Liability prior to volunteering.
For more information please contact Sarah Mitchell or Sarah (Morton) Stevens.