Lowcountry

Lowcountry

PA Foundation Announces 40 Nutrition Outreach Fellows – Megan Fulton from Charleston, SC Among Recipients

August 1, 2020 by 0 Comments
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40 PAs from Across the Country to Provide Nutrition Education to the Public

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (July 31, 2020) —The PA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Academy of PAs (AAPA), recently selected 40 PAs (physician assistants) from across the country to be a part of the foundation’s new Nutrition Outreach Fellowship.

Through the fellowship, PAs will receive special training and resources on nutrition to both enhance their clinical practice and to give back to their healthcare peers and the community at large.

As part of the program, each fellow will deliver nutrition education to a minimum of 100 consumers and 100 healthcare peers over the course of the fellowship year. Content will focus on the role of nutrition in overall health with a special focus on the management of type 2 diabetes, healthy aging, and Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS). This program is generously supported by Abbott Nutrition.

PA Foundation Executive Director Lynette Sappe-Watkins, CFRE, said the fellows will follow a dual-track, providing the nutrition resources to both consumers and their peers in healthcare.

“This program is especially timely as people living with chronic health conditions such as diabetes may be facing challenges in maintaining proper nutrition during this unusual time of social distancing. In these current circumstances people may have limited access to nutritious foods and even limited access to healthcare providers,” Sappe-Watkins said. “The Nutrition Outreach Fellows are PAs who have stepped up to be a part of an effort to provide knowledge to people in their communities about nutrition topics that will hopefully inspire dialog on nutrition between providers and patients. The Fellows will be stepping outside of their practice to help individuals in their communities learn more about an area of preventative care that has an immediate impact on their health and well-being.”

Faculty for this program are Allyson Hamacher, MPAS, PA-C, RD of Phoenix, Ariz., who practices in neurology at the Mayo Clinic; and Matthew Wright, MS, PA-C, RD of Branchburg, N.J., a faculty member at the Rutgers University PA program.

The PA Foundation Nutrition Outreach Fellows are:

  • Erica Amianda – Hackensack, NJ
  • Christopher Benjamin – Portland, OR
  • Tamara Bennett – Chattanooga, TN
  • Whitney Brusich – Green Bay, WI
  • Colleen Buda – Brighton, MI
  • Tasha Carpenter – Ann Arbor, MI
  • Mary Katherine Clark – Atlanta, GA
  • Stephen Cohen – Weston, FL
  • Karey Davis – West College Corner, IN
  • Mousumi Dey – Fort Worth, TX
  • Nicole Drake – Hendersonville, NC
  • Michelle Fegeley – Durham, NC
  • Nicole Fox – Moab, UT
  • Megan Fulton (Director of PA Practice, MUSC Health) – Charleston, SC
  • Sarah Gerber – Goodyear, AZ
  • Jamie Gibbons – Houston, TX
  • Meredith Grunden – Krum, TX
  • Shemeka Irby – Chicago, IL
  • Denise Johnson – Capitol Heights, MD
  • Scott Kastning – Shepherd, MI
  • Katie Lemons – Cambridge, MA
  • Erin Lepp – Marietta, GA
  • Delaney Lundeen – Plymouth, MN
  • Joel McReynolds – Kearney, NE
  • Kathleen Moneghan – Dover-Foxcroft, ME
  • Kayla Olson – Beulah, ND
  • Nguyen Park – Great Falls, VA
  • Camille Paul – Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands
  • Jonell Poe – Augusta, GA
  • Sarah Pryor – Norwalk, CT
  • Emma Reeve – Chandler, AZ
  • Damaris Rosado – El Paso, TX
  • Sabrina Seidman – Los Angeles, CA
  • John Taylor – Broadview Heights, OH
  • Chelsea Tersavich – Savannah, GA
  • Alexa Tovsen – Washington, DC
  • Margaret Ann Walker – Gig Harbor, WA
  • Stephanie Watson – Hartford, CT
  • Pamela Wilson – Irmo, SC
  • Kim Zuber – St. Petersburg, FL

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About the PA Foundation
The PA Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that promotes better health and wellness by providing PAs and PA students with philanthropic opportunities and resources. It is the philanthropic arm of the American Academy of PAs (AAPA), representing a profession of more than 140,000 PAs across all medical and surgical specialties throughout the U.S. and on American military bases around the world. The PA Foundation has provided almost $2.3 million in scholarships to deserving PA students.

Learn more at pa-foundation.org and engage through Facebook and LinkedIn.

Lowcountry - Summerville & Goose Creek, SC

Groundbreaking ceremony held at John McCants Veterans Park (Goose Creek, SC)

August 1, 2020 by 0 Comments
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A late afternoon shower stopped just in time for a special groundbreaking ceremony Thursday, as the construction of John McCants Veterans Park officially began in Goose Creek.

The late – and much-beloved – Goose Creek City Councilmember for whom the park is named was represented at the ceremony by his wife Christena and his family, as well as a host of friends and community leaders. Goose Creek Mayor Greg Habib, City Council members, and Goose Creek Recreation Commission members joined the McCants family for the groundbreaking.

The park will include a playground, walking trail, dog park, multi-purpose lawn, and a Veterans Honor Plaza. The Goose Creek Recreation facility will replace the current Dennis Park, and expand well beyond its borders across Anita Drive.

Mayor Habib said the park will do three important things: honor Mr. McCants, honor the City’s Veterans, and fulfill a promise the City made to the Berkeley County School District to build a park on a section of the property acquired from the district several years ago.

Mayor Habib called the fact that the park will bear Mr. McCants’ name and called the 24-year City Councilman a mentor and friend.

“Mrs. McCants thought I forgot about Mr. McCants,” Mayor Habib said to chuckles in the audience. “But anyone who knew Mr. McCants knows that you don’t forget about Mr. McCants. He was a tremendous human being.

“This park will lift this community up. It will honor our veterans like we have never honored our veterans before, and it will carry on the legacy of Mr. McCants. We are very proud of this project.”

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott was represented at the ceremony by his Senate Office’s Regional Director Al Jenkins, who presented a special wreath to Mrs. McCants.

An estimated finish date has not yet been set for the park’s construction, but the City is planning a celebration when the project is complete.

Lowcountry

Town of Mount Pleasant Completes Readiness for Hurricane Isaias

August 1, 2020 by 0 Comments
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ManagerPLEASANT, SC – The Town of Mount Pleasant has prepared for the possible impacts of Hurricane Isaias and urges residents, businesses, and visitors to do the same. Now is the time to review emergency plans, build and replenish emergency supply kits, and discuss evacuation plans. This year, hurricane preparedness includes social distancing and mitigating the impacts of COVID-19.

There are many ways for you to stay up to date on the latest Town emergency alerts, news, and events. Subscribe to our Notify Me module to receive email and text alerts about the subjects most important to you, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to our Alert Center to receive emergency notifications affecting your community.

Visit us online at www.tompsc.com to find more information.

Prepared By Martine Miller, Town of Mount Pleasant Communications

Lowcountry

Charleston, SC Based Blackbaud Recognized by Forbes as One of America’s Best Employers for Women

July 29, 2020 by 0 Comments
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CHARLESTON, S.C., July 28, 2020/PRNewswire/ — Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good, announces today that it has been named to Forbes’ Best Employers for Women 2020 list. Blackbaud, which previously received this prestigious recognition in 2018, was recognized in the IT/Internet software category for excellence in diversity, pay equity, professional development, family support, and more.  

“The diverse backgrounds, viewpoints, and experiences of our employees are paramount to all that we do at Blackbaud,” said Blackbaud Chief People Officer Maggie Driscoll. “Our people are critical in driving our mission and vision and ensuring we’re creating and fostering a thriving culture. Recognitions such as being named a Forbes Best Employer for Women are a reflection of the continued commitment and attention we put on creating a world-class work environment that empowers women—and all employees.”

Blackbaud’s diversity program is a focused and continually expanding effort spanning education, awareness, recruitment, empowerment, community involvement, and financial support. Blackbaud has employee-led affinity groups, including Women in Tech, Women in Sales, and Women in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which serve to empower and develop personal and professional growth in female leadership. The technology company prides itself on the equal gender balance of its workforce. And, every year, Blackbaud hosts an Executive Women’s Summit, where top female leaders come together to focus on building relationships and supporting one another. In addition to this recognition, Blackbaud’s commitment to diversity and inclusion has earned it spots on Forbes’ 2019 and 2018 America’s Best Employers for Diversity list, Forbes’ Best Midsize Employers list for four years and AnitaB.org’s list of Top Companies for Women Technologists for the past two years.

Forbes partners with market research company Statista to create its annual ranking of America’s Best Employers for Women. The list is compiled by surveying more than 75,000 U.S. employees—45,000 of whom are women—employed at companies with a minimum of 1,000 employees in the U.S. The survey focused around topics relevant to women in their workplaces and was designed to shed light on their experiences. View the full list of America’s Best Employers for Women here.

Learn more about life at Blackbaud by visiting Blackbaud.com/careers/life-at-blackbaud.  

About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good. Serving the entire social good community—nonprofits, higher education institutions, K–12 schools, healthcare organizations, faith communities, arts and cultural organizations, foundations, companies, 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, Costa Rica, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit  www.blackbaud.com, or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

Lowcountry

BCDCOG Expands Staff, Outreach Efforts with Key Hire – Morgan Grimes

July 29, 2020 by 0 Comments
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NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (July 22, 2020) – Morgan Grimes has joined the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments as a Communications and Outreach specialist focusing on Lowcountry Rapid Transit, South Carolina’s first high-capacity mass transit project.

Grimes will spearhead community relations and outreach along the project corridor as part of an integrated communications effort. She has previous experience with the National Association of Black Journalists and the University of South Carolina Alumni Association. She is a Lowcountry native, born and raised in Summerville, and is a UofSC graduate with a degree in Public Relations.

“Morgan fills an important role for BCDCOG as we seek to engage with future Lowcountry Rapid Transit riders and business owners in the project area,” said BCDCOG Executive Director Ron Mitchum. “Her ability to build relationships will be invaluable as the project continues to develop.”

“I look forward to engaging with the communities and businesses in the project corridor and being able to connect them to LCRT in a meaningful way,” Grimes said

Local businesses and community members interested in learning more about Lowcountry Rapid Transit are encouraged to reach out to Grimes by phone at (843) 529-2119 or by email at morgang@bcdcog.com.

VIDEO: Get to Know Morgan Grimes!

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.

Lowcountry

Bank of America Connects Charleston and Myrtle Beach-Area Youth to Workforce Success Through Paid Virtual Summer Leadership Experience

July 29, 2020 by 0 Comments
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Student Leaders underlines bank’s ongoing commitment to connect young people to jobs, skills-building and opportunities to strengthen our community

South Carolina – Bank of America today announced that the four Coastal South Carolina high school students selected as Student Leaders (#BofAStudentLeaders) have started their paid summer internship experience of leadership, civic engagement, and workforce skills-building.  In light of the health concerns that remain in local communities, the program has been adapted to a virtual format, through which students had the opportunity to participate in sessions exposing them to the vital role that nonprofits play in advancing community health, the importance of public-private partnerships to advance social change and a focus on building financial acumen. 

The Class of 2020 Coastal South Carolina Bank of America Student Leaders are:

  • Caelan Bailey, Wando, Academic Magnet High School
  • Isabela Cawley, Mount Pleasant, Charleston County School of the Arts
  • Claire Hains, Conway, Horry County Schools Scholars Academy
  • Caroline Morgan, Murrells Inlet, Horry County Schools Scholars Academy
Caelan Bailey
Isabela Cawley
Claire Hains

Caroline Morgan

Coastal South Carolina Student Leaders participated in programming that leverages Bank of America’s national partnerships and expertise and worked closely with the bank’s Charleston and Myrtle Beach leadership and nonprofit partners. They enjoyed a collaborative, mentoring-focused project working closely with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lowcountry to work on social media strategies and in the creation of a story bank tool designed to collect stories and anecdotes from Big Brothers Big Sisters participants.  In addition, Student Leaders engaged in conversations focused on social justice, civil rights, and how to build a more diverse and inclusive society and had the opportunity to gain a better understanding of their personal finances through Better Money Habits®, Bank of America’s financial wellness and education platform. 

“As we build our new organization, inspiring our community to get involved is key.  Whether we are recruiting men and mentors of colors to become mentors, or we are inspiring caring neighbors to invest in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lowcountry mission, telling our story is critical,” explains the organization’s president and chief executive officer, Merridith Crowe.  “We are so grateful to Bank of America and its young leader volunteers.  Their project to collect best practice examples and create a library of resources for our work moving forward is such a gift, especially since we are a small, but mighty staff.”

Bringing students from across the country together in order to discuss the role of citizenship and how cross-sector collaboration creates community impact is a core component of the Student Leaders program.  This year, 300 students will gather virtually for Young America Together at Home program, delivered by the Close Up Foundation, which will include discussion of finding one’s voice in order to effect change and pressing policy issues such as the economy, healthcare, the environment, and immigration.

“Now more than ever, as we collectively navigate the challenges we face in our communities, we remain committed to supporting youth and young adults of all backgrounds by connecting them to jobs, skills-building, and leadership development,” said Kim Wilkerson, Bank of America’s South Carolina State President. “Creating opportunities for our youth to gain skills and build a network is a powerful investment in the future of our community.”

In the wake of significant job losses nationwide, the ability to earn a paycheck will be essential to many young people whether they are helping to support their families or planning for the future. As part of their Student Leader experience, each student received a $5,000 stipend to recognize them for their community achievements

Recent estimates suggest that the number of disconnected youth – those who aren’t in school and don’t have a job – has likely tripled since last year and could be as high as 18 million. Without access to opportunities that build career skills, many young people may be left behind, leading to high rates of youth unemployment and hindering overall economic progress. In addition to Student Leaders, the bank invests in summer jobs for young people through its partnerships with the Boys and Girls Club of the Grand Strand as well as Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce’s job shadow program through which high school students gain valuable workforce skills. This summer, Bank of America is connecting approximately 3,000 young adults to summer jobs through partnerships with nonprofits and local mayors and its own Student Leaders® program.

Bank of America
At Bank of America, we’re guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. We’re delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for, invest in and do business with. It’s demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups, such as community, consumer, and environmental organizations, to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Learn more at about.bankofamerica.com, and connect with us on Twitter (@BofA_News).

Lowcountry - Summerville & Goose Creek, SC

The city of Goose Creek mourns the passing of John M. Bryant

July 24, 2020 by 0 Comments
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This week we mourn the death of John M. Bryant, a true leader in the history of Goose Creek. Mr. Bryant was a founding member of the Goose Creek Parks and Playgrounds (Recreation) Commission and served as its chairman for many years.

“Mr. Bryant’s contributions to our City cannot be overstated,” Mayor Habib said. “His leadership laid the foundation for Goose Creek Recreation and all it would become. In many ways, felt by many people, Goose Creek was enriched by his service, shaped by his vision, uplifted by his actions, and left better than it was before. We are grateful for his life, and we are saddened by his passing.”

Former Goose Creek Mayor Michael Heitzler called Mr. Bryant a strong advocate for the community.

“He was one of our early philosophical thinkers,” Dr. Heitzler said. “What do we want for Goose Creek? For him, Recreation was always at the top of that list. He was an early part of the movement to develop a Recreation Commission that would later become part of the City.”

Services for Mr. Bryant were held today. Visit https://www.russellfuneralchapel.net/obituary/John-M-Bryant to read more about his life.

James & John's Islands, SC - Lowcountry

New Book by Charleston Author Shelia L. Anderson Celebrates the Life and Gullah Culture of Carolyn E. White

July 22, 2020 by 0 Comments
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Charleston, S.C. – July 21, 2020 – Local Gullah storyteller, Carolyn E. White, along with local author, Shelia L. Anderson, has just published her memoir, Jabulile, The Gullah Storyteller: The Stories of My Life.

White, a native of James Island, is an award-winning storyteller who has traveled across the country as “Jabulile,” recalling the stories she heard while growing up with her parents and grandparents on then-rural James Island. The book, like a Gullah gumbo, is seasoned with the words and phrases of the Gullah language.

White is proud of her Gullah heritage and enjoys sharing it wherever she goes. Her travels have taken her to far-flung places such as Bismarck, North Dakota, as well as cultural festivals across the Lowcountry.

While this is White’s first book, Anderson, a former educator, has authored several books, including four children’s books. The book is self-published and is available at Amazon.com.

Summary

Having traveled across the country telling the tales of her beloved Gullah culture, like a recipe for a spicy Carolina Lowcountry gumbo, Carolyn E. White shares her own life’s story and the ingredients that went into the making of “Jabulile,” the quintessential Gullah storyteller! Seasoned with the spices of the Gullah language, White’s memoir will make you laugh and cry, as well as ponder a time gone by and its impact that is felt today. You will come away with your spirit uplifted and a renewed appreciation for life and, perhaps, your own story. You will feel the spirit of “Jabulile!”

Click Here to Purchase