Charleston Daily

Charleston Daily is a concept in community. Its mission is to promote, assist, and celebrate in everything Charleston, South Carolina. By partnering with businesses, community leaders, volunteers and events, we are spreading the love that is Charleston. As this city continues to grow and prosper, we want to help spread the message to all about how wonderful this community is. Charleston is about the people, community, water, land, history, heritage and the true southern warmth it brings with each and every day.

North Charleston, SC

Mercedes-Benz Vans opens new Sprinter plant in North Charleston – Amazon becomes the world’s largest Sprinter customer

September 6, 2018

by Charleston Daily 0 Comments

New part-by-part production facility with body shop, paint shop and final assembly opens in time for the U.S. market launch of the new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
First Sprinter out of new production delivered to Amazon:
New Partnership with Amazon includes the delivery of 20,000 vans for small businesses across the U.S., making the online retailer the world’s largest Sprinter customer
Investment of approximately 500 million U.S. Dollars in new plant
State-of-the-art intelligent production – with driverless transport systems, paperless documentation and exceptional digital training tools
More than 900 employees at start of production; up to 1,300 team members planned by the end of 2020

Mercedes-Benz Vans has opened its new Sprinter plant for the North American market. After considering the high market potential for the new Sprinter in North America, the decision to build a new production facility in time for the launch of the new Sprinter model in the USA was announced in March 2015. The facility in North Charleston, South Carolina, is now up and running following a two year construction period. The total investment adds up to approx. 500 million dollars with more than 900 people working at the expanded North Charleston site, that number is set to grow up to 1,300 by the end of 2020. According to estimations, suppliers will create an additional 600 new jobs in and around North Charleston.

“The USA is already the second largest market for our Sprinter today. With the new, state-of-the-art production site in South Carolina, we will be able to supply our customers in North America even faster and with more flexibility in the future. This makes better use of the dynamic market potential, placing our new plant in North Charleston as a central component of our growth strategy ‘Mercedes-Benz Vans goes global,'” said Volker Mornhinweg, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans.

“The new plant in North Charleston combines our global expertise and experience resulting in a state-of-the-art facility in every respect. It is a valuable asset that completes our global production network. Our priority at Mercedes-Benz Vans during the planning process for this facility was maximum flexibility. This enables us to react in an agile and anticipatory manner to current developments and customer desires. Additionally, it guarantees excellent quality within our proven, standardized production system,” said Frank Klein, Head of Operations Mercedes-Benz Vans.

To coincide with the opening, Mercedes-Benz Vans also announced it will be producing Amazon branded Sprinter vans for the retail company’s new Delivery Service Partner program at the new plant. Small business owners will work with third-party fleet management companies to procure their customized vans and get special leases in order to keep their startup costs low.

“We’re proud to partner with Mercedes-Benz Vans to contribute to local economies through the order of Amazon branded Sprinter vans produced at their new plant in North Charleston,” said Dave Clark, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations. “Thanks to the tremendous response to Amazon’s new Delivery Service Partner program, we are excited to increase our original order of branded Sprinter vans to 20,000 vehicles so new small businesses will have access to a customized fleet to power deliveries of Amazon packages.”

U.S. market launch for the new Sprinter

The opening could not come at a better time – 2018 marks the U.S. market launch of the new generation of the highly acclaimed van.

The third generation of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter defines the top class of large vans in all sub-disciplines. Its classic strengths have been improved upon and are complemented by new intelligent products and services.

Among the outstanding innovations in the North American market are the new multimedia systems MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience), the control and display concept in the cockpit, as well as ergonomically shaped seats and modern assistance systems – some of them were taken over by the car sector and, for the first time, found their way into a Mercedes-Benz van.

New standards are being set in the field of digitization and connectivity, which is why the new Sprinter can be described as the first van in a new category with a holistic overall system solution. The previously available version of the proven Mercedes-Benz Sprinter was in high demand among customers in the USA, the second largest market in the world for Sprinter vans.

Since 2006, Semi-Knocked-Down kits have been assembled in North Charleston for imported Sprinter vans and since 2015 also for imported Metris Midsize Vans (known in other markets as “Vito”). With the new plant and the “made in USA” vehicles, the business area will be able to serve the growing demand of North American customers more economically and significantly reduce delivery times in this market.

The new Sprinter will be made under the brands Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner.

Additional facilities including body shop, paint shop and final assembly

Mercedes-Benz has put the full weight of its technical expertise into the North Charleston location. The new factory expands upon the existing Mercedes-Benz Vans assembly plant with additional facilities, including body shop, paint shop and final assembly. The company is implementing its most innovative production technologies and concepts at the location, making it one of the most modern of its kind in North America and an integral part of Mercedes-Benz Vans’ global production network.

The expansion of the production facility has tripled its footprint, now covering 222 acres or nearly 10 million square ft. The production and office building area comes now to around 41 acres or 1.8 million square ft., supplemented by free and logistics space. Central to the innovations are connectivity and digital communication in manufacturing due to continuously growing demands for flexibility and efficiency in production and to the increasing diversity of vehicle variants and sales figures continuing to rise.

Employees are also benefitting from increased digitalization as it minimizes routine and repetitive tasks, giving them more time for higher-value work. The outstanding innovations include self-driving transport systems, the shift to paperless, digital communication and new opportunities provided by virtual employee training.

Autonomous transport systems deliver free-flowing traffic

Like other locations within the Mercedes-Benz Vans production network, the plant in North Charleston is equipped with driverless transport systems – which can travel more than 40 miles in one shift. They are controlled through networking with the plant’s IT system and via RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology. The associated transponders, incorporated into the factory floors, receive the necessary driving commands. The vehicles can also use Bluetooth to communicate with one another and coordinate automatically, thus guaranteeing smooth traffic flow at all times.

Paperless documentation with RFID technology

Among the biggest transformations is the paperless, digital production documentation, based on RFID technology. It means the position of a specific component can be pinpointed precisely at any given time with contactless, automatic identification and localization. This information allows employees in logistics and production to feasibly adjust to process changes. Moreover, quality assurance personnel can ascertain that the correct part has been installed in the correct vehicle. Relative to conventional processes, RFID technology has made it possible to eliminate several steps of documentation, with one example being the manual scanning of barcodes. This not only saves time and money but also reduces the number of potential sources of error.

Effective training with digital tools

At every Mercedes-Benz plant, personnel remains the most important factor when it comes to quality. At the North Charleston plant, conventional methods are amplified by digital training tools to help prepare them for their jobs. Due to the diversity of body types, powertrain concepts, body lengths, tonnages, cargo-space heights and equipment options, the new Sprinter is available in more than 1,700 variants. Each and every employee has to learn around 900 individual process steps in a specific order to enable them to build the new Sprinter. With the utilization of digital tools, this process is now efficient and sustainable. In assembly, employees can use an on-screen approach similar to that of a computer game to familiarize themselves with procedures and components. Previously, training for assembly work was conducted purely on pre-production vehicles. Training of paint-shop personnel is likewise aided by digital techniques. For example, they are able to use Virtual Reality (VR) spectacles and VR paint guns for realistic simulation of the painting process.

The MUSC and Friends and Christ Church Presbyterian Host Dinner and Bible Study Every Tuesday

September 4, 2018

by Charleston Daily 0 Comments

The MUSC and Friends weekly Bible meets each Tuesday night for dinner and Bible study. We begin with dinner at 6:45 and are studying Jesus In His Own Words.

Please let Pastor Ross know if you have any questions. ross@christchurchcharleston.org

When: Every Tuesday until December 18, 2018 – 6:45pm – 8:45pm

Where: Christ Church Presbyterian – 104 Broad St, Charleston, SC 29401

Official Event Page

Christ Church Presbyterian Official Website

A Letter of Caution to Charleston and neighboring communities

September 2, 2018

by Charleston Daily 29 Comments

By Mark A. Leon

This commentary is brushed with admiration and fueled by optimism, but must be posed with an air of caution, because with change comes adjustment; with adjustment, comes resistance. Given the rapidly changing landscape, education and acceptance are critical for ensuring a positive future for Charleston.

Last week, a story broke centering around an attack on a transgender female outside a downtown Charleston nightclub. This led to questions on whether this was a targeted attack. Yet, a hush remains over the community. As an active resident for many years, I have observed some clear cultural practices:

This is a culture that bottles up emotion and works hard to “not” rock the boat
There is limited government activism and strength in rallying over a cause
There is deeply embedded resentment and separation between rich and poor; black and white

We hear that Charleston is the friendliest city in the country and one of the top destinations for new residents and career opportunities, but look at some other issues that will arise as we continue to become one of the fastest growing regions in the South and the country.

If Charleston is one of the friendliest and most welcome cities in the country, why did the government feel the need to apologize for slavery, an act that was abolished over 150 years ago?
If it is necessary to remove slavery from our historic story line, why are housing communities still called “plantations”, the term or location that many associate with slavery?
The hottest area of economic growth in the Lowcountry is construction. With that, we are seeing more and more migrant and immigrant workers. Is this community comfortable with that?
With the career opportunity growth and South Carolina ranked one of the lowest in the nation in academic standards, how we will fill those much-needed skilled roles to meet the demands of the area? This question becomes even more critical with the recent announcement of the new Google Data Center and the existence of over 250 active start-ups.
In the latest census, Charleston County residency is 95.7% white and black. A demographic shift will change significantly in the next 10 plus years. How is the city going to adjust?
We currently have a commuting traffic issue in the city metro. With Volvo, Nexton and the expansion West of Summerville, this will create a second bottleneck of traffic on 26. How is this being addressed?
As traffic issues continue to mount, the infrastructure changes to more modern architectural design and the fight against unfair treatment of the carriage horses mount, will the historic Southern culture of Charleston soon be gone?
Can the Lowcountry survive with the increased pressures of new development and resident growth, while we still cannot solve the issue of flooding and poor water quality?

These are questions that have run through the minds of many and unfortunately, we seem to be allowing our local governments free reign to capitalize on changes without taking steps to solidify the future. The future is being compromised and contrary to what government and media is saying, it I not for the better.

More tourists, more money, increased costs and more homes are not always the right direction of progress. In addition, progress does takes time. The rate we are progressing is not healthy.

I hope we start to organize and stand in numbers as one voice to either slow down change or prepare for the future. If not for us, for our children.

Moneypenny Expands First U.S. Office in Charleston, South Carolina

September 1, 2018

by Charleston Daily 0 Comments

MEDIA RELEASE: Award-winning UK Company Anticipates Significant Growth in Market

CHARLESTON, SC (August 8, 2018) – Moneypenny, the world’s lead provider of call answering and customer contact services, has expanded its first US office in Charleston on Faber Place Drive. The award-winning employer will have brought 50 jobs to the area by the end of this year, and anticipates adding another 20 positions in 2019.

“Charleston was a natural fit for our first US office because the city’s unique charm aligns so nicely with our own business philosophy,” said Charlotte Glover, Director of Operations for Moneypenny. “We take a unique approach to call answering by offering dedicated professional receptionists that act as an extension of our clients’ businesses. Where better to find the talent for those positions than the cradle of southern hospitality?”

Moneypenny’s office in North Charleston accommodates up to 150 employees, and the company expects to outgrow the space within the next four years. Started as a family business in 2000, Moneypenny now employs more than 650 employees globally, and has twice been named in the top 5 of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by The Sunday Times in London.

“Today’s ‘always on’ customer has fueled our growth, which we expect to accelerate as more businesses recognize the value in having us cover the phones,” added Glover. “The need

to provide constant customer coverage is taxing small business owners across industries. Nearly every prospective customer hangs up at a voicemail message, but our research shows that a third of businesses still fail to answer their incoming calls.”

Studying the various customer journeys of the 13,000 businesses it works with, Moneypenny has found customers no longer use phones as a research tool. Instead, they now use social media, review sites and media for their initial business inquiries. A phone call today serves as the final reassurance a customer seeks prior to purchase, which means there are fewer calls, but that they are of a higher value.

For further information please contact:

Ariel Herr for Moneypenny
ariel@hargrovepartnership.com
469-235-2708

Leila Bibby for Moneypenny
leila@moneypenny.co.uk

Mary Jane Greenhalgh for Moneypenny
maryjane@moneypenny.co.uk

About Moneypenny

Moneypenny helps businesses earn new and retain existing customers by offering a customized suite of inbound call and customer contact services. From a state-of-the-art facility in Charleston, South Carolina, and the United Kingdom, Moneypenny manages more than 13 million calls, chats, text messages, and emails for more than 13,000 clients annually.

Started as a family business in 2000, Moneypenny has grown to over 600 employees globally. Their industry-leading technology and scalable solutions make Moneypenny the right fit for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Moneypenny was awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation in 2008 and was recognized by The Sunday Times as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For an astonishing five times including top 5 listings in 2015 and 2017. Moneypenny’s charitable arm helps unemployed and underserved young women in the local community find new opportunities in life and work through its ‘We Mind The Gap’ initiative.

Find more information about how Moneypenny is reshaping the ways businesses interact with their customers at Moneypenny.com.

Folly’s Best Rentals donates beach accessible wheelchair to the City of Folly Beach – Ceremony on Friday, August 31

August 30, 2018

by Charleston Daily 0 Comments

For immediate release

August 29, 2018

Contact: Greg S. Hart – Folly’s Best Rentals, President
(843) 633-0736 (office)
(843) 224-6031 (cell)
ghart@follysbest.com

Folly’s Best Rentals donates beach accessible wheelchair to the City of Folly Beach

FOLLY BEACH, SC – Folly’s Best Rentals will be donating a ROLLEEZ-4 PVC beach wheelchair to the City of Folly Beach, its citizens, and its guests for use free of charge. The presentation, which is open to the public, will be held at 10:00 am on Friday, August 31, 2018 at Folly’s Best Rentals located at 81A Center Street, Folly Beach, SC.

Folly’s Best Rentals’ President Greg Hart wants this to be the first step of the company’s journey in helping the community increase beach access for everyone. He feels that everyone deserves to “experience where the ocean touches the shore, as this is good for your soul.”

He gives credit to the generosity of Folly’s Best Rentals’ guests and property owners, and feels this would not be possible without them.

The City of Folly Beach currently offers free access to beach wheelchairs any time of year through their Public Safety department. The need for the beach to be accessible to everyone has been steadily increasing over the years, thus sparking the idea for Folly’s Best Rentals to get involved. This specialized wheelchair is only the start for the company to aid in making the beach accessible to all who seek to enjoy its beauty.

For information about renting a beach accessible wheelchair and which beach access points are accessible, contact Folly Beach ADA Liaison Officer Alan Kleinfeld at 843-588-2433.

Folly’s Best Rentals is a local vacation management company operating on Folly Beach since 2011.

# # #

Media Contact:

Minta Pavliscsak, Folly’s Best Rentals
(843) 633-0736 (day)
minta@follysbest.com

About Folly’s Best Rentals

Folly’s Best Rentals is a property management company located on Folly Beach, SC.

Folly’s Best Rentals exceeds the expectations of our owners, guests and associates, all of whom we consider partners. We accomplish this by delivering as we promise and taking the additional step of doing at least one more unexpected thing to improve the experience of all who deal with us. We merge technology with southern hospitality. Each day we work towards improving the experiences we provide our partners.

History:

With over 40 years combined experience in providing accommodations to guest and customer service, Greg and Nancy Hart has lead Folly’s Best Rentals since 2011. The business started after a friend heard how they were doing managing their own beach property and asked for their help. Word spread, and more friends joined in. Today Folly’s Best Rentals is the fastest growing Property Management Company on Folly Beach.

Folly’s Best Rentals – Founded by Greg and Nancy Hart.
81A Center Street on Folly Beach.(843) 633-0269.
office@follysbest.com
https://www.follysbestrentals.com/
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 736 Folly Beach, SC 29439

BCDCOG Receives $1.5 Million in Federal Grant Funds for Battery-Electric Buses

August 29, 2018

by Charleston Daily 0 Comments

COUNCIL PARTNERED WITH S.C.-BASED BUS MANUFACTURER PROTERRA

NORTH CHARLESTON (Aug. 29, 2018) – The Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG) has been awarded $1.5 million in funding as a part of the Federal Transportation Authority (FTA) Low- or No-Emission (Low-No) Grant program.

BCDCOG, one of 23 agencies nationwide to receive funds, will purchase an initial trio of zero-emission, battery-electric vehicles from Greenville, S.C. manufacturer Proterra, with whom it partnered on the grant application. The buses will be part of the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) fleet. BCDCOG has managed the transit authority since 2015.

“This is yet another step forward for public transportation in the region,” said BCDCOG and CARTA executive director Ron Mitchum. “Our staff worked diligently to secure funding for these clean-fuel vehicles, which will be the first of many on tri-county streets and highways.”

The CARTA board of directors in July passed a resolution to transition its entire fleet of fixed-route buses, primarily 1996 models that serviced the Atlanta Olympics, to zero-emission battery-electrics over the next several years. Funding from another federal grant program, when combined with Low-No resources, could see the number of battery-electric vehicles increase to as many nine in the near-term. CARTA is in the midst of updating its Express buses and has recently replaced its entire Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH) and Tel-A-Ride paratransit fleets.

A cornerstone of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act signed into law by Congress in December of 2015, the Low-No Grant program is centered on modernizing transit systems through the purchase of buses which are powered by hybrid or battery engines, according to a Proterra release.

More than $84 million in funding is being made available for 52 projects in 41 states via the Low-No program. About $36 million will be spent on Proterra buses nationally.

“We are extremely happy to see American-made, zero-emission vehicles making their way into our fleet,” said CARTA board of directors chairman Mike Seekings. “Reliable, eco-friendly buses are a core component of what we’re building in regard to public transit in the region.”

ABOUT BCDCOG:

The BCDCOG is a voluntary association of, by and for local governments, and was established to assist Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester county leaders in planning for common needs, cooperating for mutual benefit, and coordinating for sound regional development. BCDCOG’s purpose is to strengthen the individual and collective power of local governments and to help them recognize regional opportunities, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and make joint decisions. For the latest on BCDCOG, visit www.bcdcog.com, like us on Facebook or follow on Twitter at @BDCCoG.

ABOUT CARTA:
The Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) is a public transportation system dedicated to providing affordable transit in the Charleston community through local fixed routes, on-demand paratransit service and express commuter routes. For the latest on CARTA, visit www.ridecarta.com, like us on Facebook or follow on Twitter at @RideCARTA. All customers are encouraged to plan rides and track buses with the CARTA-endorsed Transit app and the CARTA Bus Tracker.
###

MEDIA CONTACT:
Daniel Brock
Rawle Murdy Associates
(919) 820-2612
dbrock@rawlemurdy.com

Fundamental Truths of Humanity

August 29, 2018

by Charleston Daily 0 Comments

By Mark A. Leon

By no means is this an all encompassing list. For some, it is the seeds to plant the tree. For others, it is a blueprint to build upon. Whatever place you are in life, these fundamental truths will help set you on course for a life of goodness, happiness and fulfillment.

We value the thoughts of our readers and welcome comments to build upon this list. Here are our basic fundamentals to provide you with a life filled with warmth and love.

Fundamental Truths of Humanity

All humans are born innocent without hatred, prejudice or ill will toward others
Happiness and success are earned, not entitled
Fair and equitable behavior toward all should be practiced every day
Color is all around and it is beautiful
Love is unlimited. Never be afraid to overuse it
Fear can always be defeated by the power of the heart
Loneliness is an illness that can be cured by the extension of a one’s hand to another
All true happiness is found from within.
Balance is a necessary part of brain health
Positivity can neutralize and destroy negative energy
Your legacy will be measured by your actions every day
Our time on this Earth is a gift and should never be taken for granted
There is a freedom in honesty. Truth possesses the power of trust and feeds the roots of relationships
Find a single value once a day and you will have a complete day
Exhaust all emotion daily. Be free to express laughter, tears and joy
A sunrise can be more powerful than any medicine
There is something unconditional, generous and comforting about family
Never lose the sensation of your inner child
You are never too old to feel young
Generosity is not measured in dollars, but acts of kindness
Never give and expect something in return
Exercise the mind, the body and the soul
Actual reality will never replace virtual or augmented

Charleston Non-Profit Darkness to Light Announces Second Annual Child Abuse Prevention Conference

August 29, 2018

by Charleston Daily 0 Comments

DARKNESS TO LIGHT ANNOUNCES SECOND ANNUAL CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION CONFERENCE

Conference, presented by the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, brings together sexual abuse prevention leaders from across the country around the common goal of making communities safer for children

Memphis, TN – Darkness to Light has officially announced the schedule of sessions and speakers for the upcoming Ignite 2018 National Prevention Conference, presented by the Monique Burr Foundation for Children. The event, scheduled for October 9^th and 10^th, 2018, in Memphis, TN, will also feature pre-conference day activities on October 8^th. Ignite 2018 will bring together child advocates from all over the world. Early registrants receive a discounted rate by registering before August 31st.

The conference equips attendees with resources and tools to strengthen and organize their prevention initiatives, no matter the size and scope. Advanced training and thought-provoking, interactive sessions led by some of the most respected experts in child sexual abuse prevention will help individuals and organizations bring fresh ideas to their communities.

This year’s conference will welcome Dr. Alice Forrester and Laura Porter as keynote speakers. Forrester and Porter are featured in the film Resilience, an official selection at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Resilience chronicles the promising beginnings of a national movement to prevent childhood trauma, treat toxic stress, and greatly improve the health of future generations.

Dr. Forrester is the CEO at The Clifford Beers Clinic and provides mental health services for children by including the entire family in their programs. Porter is co-founder of ACE Interface, LLC. She develops and disseminates educational products and empowerment strategies that help leaders throughout the nation to dramatically improve the health and well-being of communities.

“Last year, nearly 200 attendees from 32 states and four countries came together for Ignite. This year is going to be bigger and better,” said Katelyn Brewer, President and CEO of Darkness to Light. “With the expertise of our keynotes, panelists, and session speakers, attendees will be inspired and encouraged, bringing that passion back to their community efforts to better protect children.”

“We are extremely honored and proud to be the presenting sponsor of Darkness to Light’s Ignite 2018 Prevention Conference,” said Lynn Layton, President and CEO of the Monique Burr Foundation for Children. “Our support of Ignite reflects our commitment to collaborating with Darkness to Light and complementing their focus on adult prevention education. Combined with our focus on child prevention education, we will create a 360° circle of prevention and together we will better protect children.”

Conference panelists and speakers include representatives from Microsoft, the Memphis Child Advocacy Center, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, the Clifford Beers Clinic, ACE Interface, Childhood Fractured, SCARS, The Medical University of South Carolina, and Darkness to Light.

Sessions include:

Children in a Digital Age
Leveraging Collective Impact & the Adverse Childhood Experience Research
Cultivating a Culture of Safety in Youth-Serving Organizations
Advocacy & Policy Development – A guide to creating lasting social change
Time to Talk: Teens, Sex, and the Law
Beyond “Do No Harm”
Building an Initiative in the Hispanic Community Panel
Understanding the research and best practices: Using adult-focused & child-focused prevention programs

Other conference sponsors include the HAND Foundation and the Redwoods Group.

For more information and to register for the conference, please visit www.D2L.org/Ignite2018.

###

Media Contact

Gwen Bouchie
843.513.1623
gbouchie@D2L.org

About Darkness to Light

Darkness to Light is a nonprofit organization with the mission to empower adults to prevent child sexual abuse through awareness, education, and stigma reduction. Darkness to Light’s flagship program, Stewards of Children®, is an evidence-informed, award-winning training that teaches adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. More than 1.6 million adults have been trained using Darkness to Light trainings. For more information, visit www.D2L.org.

About the Monique Burr Foundation for Children

The Monique Burr Foundation for Children, Inc. (MBF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1997 by Edward E. Burr in honor of his late wife, Monique Burr, a devoted child advocate. MBF Prevention Education Programs, including MBF Child Safety Matter® for elementary schools and MBF Teen Safety Matters® for middle schools, are research-based, primary prevention programs that educate and empower students and all relevant adults with information and strategies to prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to bullying, cyberbullying, digital dangers, and all types of child abuse and exploitation.

For more information about the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, call (904) 642-0210, visit www.mbfpreventioneducation.org or follow the Foundation on Facebook @MBFChildSafety and Instagram @MBFChildSafety.

Duck Donuts Charleston Grand Opening is Today – Wednesday, August 29, 2018

August 29, 2018

by Charleston Daily 0 Comments

What: Grand Opening – Duck Donuts

When: Wednesday, August 29, 2018 – 8:00 AM

Where: 1812 Sam Rittenberg Blvd – Suite 16B

Official Website

Wednesday, August 29, 2018 at 8:00 AM is the grand opening of the first area Duck Donuts.

Get your warm, made to order donuts starting today at 1812 Sam Rittenberg Blvd, Suite 16B (West Ashley)

Store Hours

Sunday 6:30AM – 7:00PM

Monday 6:30AM – 7:00PM

Tuesday 6:30AM – 7:00PM

Wednesday 6:30AM – 7:00PM

Thursday 6:30AM – 7:00PM

Friday 6:30AM – 8:30PM

Saturday 6:30AM –8:30PM

Healthcare Organization Yields Impressive Fundraising Results Using Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT with Grateful Patient Solution

August 29, 2018

by Charleston Daily 0 Comments

Independent study shows how a healthcare organization can more efficiently identify patients who want to give back as thanks for exceptional care

CHARLESTON, S.C., Aug. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Blackbaud BLKB, +1.26% today announced the results of a commissioned Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) [1] study conducted by Forrester Consulting, which examines the return on investment that a healthcare organization may experience by deploying Blackbaud’s smart cloud fundraising and relationship management solution along with its wealth and asset screening solution. Forrester found that over a three-year period, a healthcare organization can achieve a 90 percent return on investment, increase the volume of grateful patient gifts raised by gift officers by 40 percent and increase the average size of grateful patient donations by 28 percent.

To evaluate the economic impact, Forrester took a comprehensive approach to its study, interviewing Blackbaud subject matter experts, Forrester analysts and a hospital foundation (Inova Health Foundation) currently using Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT™ and Grateful Patient Solution. Using the data, Forrester analysts constructed a financial model representative of the interview using its TEI methodology to identify the cost, benefit, flexibility and risk factors that affect the investment decision.

“For over 35 years, Blackbaud’s innovation, industry expertise and value-added services have helped healthcare organizations excel in fundraising and constituent relationship management,” said Page Bullington, president and general manager of Blackbaud Healthcare Solutions. “The ROI that Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT and Grateful Patient Solution brings Inova goes further than its financial results. Our innovations allow Inova to learn more about its constituents and leverage the combination of better data and enhanced functionality to focus its fundraising efforts, ultimately increasing its efficiency and effectiveness.”

Inova Health Foundation (“Inova”), based in Falls Church, Va., is part of the Inova Health System, a large nonprofit health organization that employs over 17,000 staff throughout five hospitals, 25 assisted living and long-term care facilities, 26 primary care locations and a variety of other health-related services. Previously struggling to identify and target ideal donor prospects, Inova turned to Blackbaud to enhance the technology powering its research, direct mail and gift officer outreach.

Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT and Grateful Patient Solution helped Inova identify grateful patient prospects with high giving potential. “It would be impossible to identify the right patients to talk to without Blackbaud because of the volume coming into our system every day,” said Paige Moses, associate vice president, Foundation Services at Inova Health Foundation. “We’ve been able to set up a process that can handle the volume of constituents Inova sees every day with a very lean staff. Before, we couldn’t get through this volume of constituents.”

After deploying Raiser’s Edge NXT with the Grateful Patient Solution, Inova experienced:

Raised an additional $429,511 from grateful patients. Gift officers leveraged better data and technology to target prospects, increasing the number of gifts from grateful patients by 40 percent and the average gift value by 28 percent.
Increased direct mail donations, raising an additional $142,300. Inova built highly-targeted direct mail efforts to grateful patients based on data from daily screenings and quarterly modeling.
Saved more than $113,000 per year. By replacing legacy solutions and upgrading to the cloud solution, Inova has also been able to greatly improve its efficiencies and productivity.
Recaptured $32,000 of increased foundation employee productivity annually. Foundation staff streamlined regular processes to save over 2,000 hours annually with Blackbaud’s solutions.

“Being able to establish a direct mail program that drove over 800 donors in one year versus a former program that only drove 78 donors in 2015 and 105 donors in 2016 is a huge win,” said Jeff Johnson, senior director of Inova Health Foundation.

Learn how Inova increased patient donations while improving productivity using the Blackbaud solutions by downloading the full study at https://hello.blackbaud.com/12227_Healthcare_Forrester_Report.html. Hosted by Blackbaud, join Inova Health Foundation and guest Forrester on September 19 at 2 p.m. ET to learn more about this report in webinar form.

Click to tweet : .@InovaHealth increased its volume of grateful patient gifts by 40% with @blackbaud’s help – learn how! http://bit.ly/2wt0LYB

About Blackbaud

Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good. Serving the entire social good community—nonprofits, foundations, companies, education institutions, healthcare organizations and individual change agents—Blackbaud connects and empowers organizations to increase their impact through cloud software, services, expertise, and data intelligence. The Blackbaud portfolio is tailored to the unique needs of vertical markets, with solutions for fundraising and CRM, marketing, advocacy, peer-to-peer fundraising, corporate social responsibility, school management, ticketing, grantmaking, financial management, payment processing, and analytics. Serving the industry for more than three decades, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com.

Blackbaud Media Contact
Nicole McGougan
Public Relations Manager
843.654.3307
media@blackbaud.com