Battered woman in need of assistance – June 24, 2016

A young woman recently was in an auto accident and suffered some injuries.  She shared an apartment with a boyfriend who is a coworker as well.  As a result of her injuries she had been unable to work.  To make matters worse she was recently assaulted by her boyfriend which aggravated her injuries.  He has since moved out of the apartment and she has filed a police complaint.  Even if she gets well enough to return to work she cannot return to her previous employer as her ex-boyfriend still works there as well.  She was struggling with making rent and other payments in these difficult times.  Change for a Dollar assisted her by paying her current electric bill. 

SCE&G payment - $84.06

Grandmother with custody of granddaughter needed rent assistance – June 21, 2016

An Expanding the Table volunteer, while serving dinner one night, met an elderly woman who lives in a trailer park in Summerville who has custody of her middle school age granddaughter.  She indicated to him that she is employed but struggles to make ends meet.  She recently lost some time at work and has been struggling to make all her payments.  She was making partial payments on her lot rent and promised the property manager that she would make up payments when she got her tax refund.  According to the property manager she did so as promised.  Change for a Dollar also checked with her and confirmed she is up to date on utility bills etc. but was still a little short on the arrears on the lot rent for her trailer.  Change for a Dollar assisted her with paying the remaining arrears on the lot rent bringing her current.

Lot Rent Arrears - $200

Homeless man new to town needed phone minutes – June 11, 2016

A homeless man who returned to Summerville from Florida was awaiting a bed at the local homeless shelter and was living on the street.  He has a small disability income but had run out of phone minutes and money.  His phone was his lifeline as he communicated with the shelter and a local friend who has promised him a room in the near future.  While he was waiting to get into the shelter Change for a Dollar has assisted with getting him some minutes on his phone so he can communicate with others.

Boost Mobile minutes - $54.13

Homeless man reconciles with wife – needs new tires to get home – June 6, 2016

A Summerville man has been homeless and living in the local homeless shelter following his eviction from his apartment.  He is awaiting approval on his disability and was evicted from his apartment because he was unable to work and had no income.  He was living in the apartment with his adult son following his divorce from two years ago but there wasn’t enough family income to continue to stay.  He has maintained communication with his ex-wife as his son was with him and his adult daughter was living with his ex-wife and was expecting a child, so they had a lot to talk about.  During the course of the weeks he was in the shelter, and their mutual excitement about the coming grandchild, they came to terms and sought to reconcile.  He was invited by his ex-wife to come to Florida and live with them, as they worked to rebuild the family.  Unfortunately, the vehicle he had was in desperate need of two new tires.  Change for a Dollar assisted with the tires and he returned home to Florida and his family.

Two new tires- $287.94

Family of 11 with no Air Conditioning – June 5, 2016

A large family in Summerville lives in a local trailer park.  The family consists of five adults and six children sharing a single wide trailer.  The main house air conditioner broke a while back and the family on an off used window units to cool the house.  Currently, the house only has one working window unit and the home is always very hot, even with open windows and fans.  Expanding the Table delivered a few meals one evening and became aware of the situation.  The ETT volunteered approached Change for a Dollar for assistance.  Two window units were purchased for the family and delivered to the home.

Window AC Units - $279.93

Homeless woman in car, needs help with title loan – May 20, 2016

A Summerville woman and a friend are both homeless.  They technically are a couple and don’t want to be separated. They are living in a car at the moment and neither of them were interested in going to Charleston to stay at the shelter, although it is currently full for women.  Trident United Way was working with them to get them the services they were entitled to.  The woman owns the vehicle but has a title loan on the car.  She had fallen behind one month and was concerned about the vehicle being repossessed.  TUW called Change for a Dollar to see if we could assist. Change for a Dollar paid one month of the past due loan and the current month covering the loan until June 15th.

Title Loan Payment - $236.00

Expanding the Table guest has no Air Conditioning – May 20, 2016

An elderly Summerville woman often joins Expanding the Table for dinner. One evening a volunteer gave her a ride home because she walked with a cane.  When he helped her into the house with her belongings he noticed the oppressive heat inside the house.  He asked about the air conditioning.  She told him she lived with her brother and she was not allowed to use the AC when he was not home.  The volunteer asked if she could use a window AC unit.  She asked her brother and he indicated she could use a window unit for her bedroom if she could get one.  The volunteer asked Change for a Dollar if we could make that happen.  Change for a Dollar purchased a small window unit and the volunteer delivered it to her house.

Window AC Unit - $138.03

Single mom with special needs son struggles – May 16, 2016

A single mom cares for a special needs child.  The small boy usually is watched by the grandfather while the woman worked.  Recently the grandfather has become ill and is not available to help with the child care.  As a result she has been missing a lot of work.  This young woman works for an ARC Owner who has been trying to help her as much as possible.  Recently her phone ran out of minutes and the ARC Owner was unable to contact her.  Change for a Dollar paid for one month of prepaid minutes to get her phone turned back on so she can stay in touch and contact others in seeking help with the child care.

Verizon Payment - $49.22

Young couple battling cancer – May 12, 2016

A young couple is currently battling cancer.  An Ashley Ridge Church Owner became aware that the woman she knew had recently become ill.  The wife has had multiple surgeries as well as chemotherapy and radiation for the cancer.  It has been hard for her to work.  The husband who works as a server at a local restaurant has been missing a lot of time from work to take his wife back and forth to the hospital for treatments.  They are struggling to pay the bills.  ARC Change for a Dollar has helped them out by paying two months of their electric bill.

SCE&G Payment - $400.00

Homeless drifter trying to get “home” – May 1, 2016

A 52 year old man has been homeless for the majority of his adult life.  He is a very pleasant and sober fellow but a true drifter in the sense of the word.  He has traveled about the country working when and where he can but living for the most part on the streets.  In the past year or so he has come down with severe COPD which makes it difficult for him to breathe especially in cold climates.  He was in the southeast for the winter and recently lost his wallet and all his important papers.  Without an ID it was next to impossible for him to get work especially with his illness but he was trying to "walk" home to Ohio to get new ID's.  He was in the Charleston area when he became weak, malnourished and fell sick and collapsed on the streets in West Ashley.  He was treated at Roper St Francis hospital but was discharged once he was stabilized.  The hospital called the men’s homeless shelter in Summerville asking to admit him as they were worried about him being on the streets.  He was not looking to stay at the shelter but rather wanted to try to get back to Cleveland OH where he was born to get his ID’s reissued.  He has an older sister there also.  In the past his sister helped him a little financially but she herself became ill and was unable to do so. She said if he could make it back to Cleveland he could stay with her for a while until he got his affairs back in order.  Change for a Dollar helped with getting him a bus ticket to Ohio.

Bus ticket to Cleveland - $149.00

Sick woman living in trailer in need of assistance – April 18, 2016

A single woman who is struggling with a severe medical condition was at the free medical clinic in Summerville recently.  A referral came from the clinic to Change for a Dollar because she was unable to work and was struggling financially.  Since she was unable to work as she was dealing with her condition a friend was letting her live in a vacant trailer for free but she was responsible for the utilities.  She had some savings and was getting by but hadn’t paid her water bill in many months as it was low on the list of her priorities.  She was put on notice that she was scheduled for disconnect and asked for help.  Change for a Dollar paid her past due account preventing the shut off.

Berkeley County Water - $210.00

New sneakers for elementary school boy – April 16, 2016

A young boy who regularly attends Expanding the Table for dinner always wears second hand clothes and shoes.  He currently was wearing a used pair of soccer cleats, his only footwear.  One of the volunteers from Expanding the Table asked the parent if it would be ok to take him for a new pair of shoes.  They arranged a shopping date at the mall and the little boy was allowed to go through the store and pick out a new pair of sneakers he liked.  He and the volunteer ended the shopping trip with a stop at the local ice cream shop for a treat before heading home.  They had a great day!

New sneakers and ice cream - $50.00

Single Mom with special needs child needed assistance – April 15, 2016

A young woman who was unemployed was brought to Expanding the Table for dinner by a concerned friend of one of the volunteers.  He introduced her and her special needs child to the group.  She had dinner with the folks who got to know her story and situation.  By the grace of God there were several people there that could assist her.  She was offered a job and offered other assistance.  She has a pay as you go phone but since she was unemployed it was turned off.  Change for a Dollar helped her by paying two months on her phone to hold her over until she got her first paycheck.

Pre-Paid phone charges - $90.00

Homeless man trying to get “home” – March 31, 2016

A very troubled Summerville man was seeking to return to Louisiana where he had some family.  He was not interested in staying in a shelter and struggled with basic social skills.  He spent an evening in the homeless shelter and did not mix well with the other residents and was focused only on returning to the only place he felt was home, some extended family in Louisiana.  Change for a Dollar assisted him by paying for a bus ticket.

New Bible - $139.00

Man in need of a new Bible – March 26, 2016

A new guest to the Expanding the Table food mission one evening was talking with one of the volunteers.  He shared that he struggled to get by but has strong faith that God will provide for him.  He reads his bible every day and showed his bible to the volunteer.  The bible had seen much use, it had loose and tattered pages and was falling apart.  He said he hoped to one day be able to get a new one.  The volunteer approached Change for a Dollar and asked if they could pay for a replacement bible for this gentleman.  Change for a Dollar gladly paid the cost of a replacement bible in the translation he preferred. 

New Bible - $45.00

Disabled woman’s electric disconnected – March 24, 2016

A disabled woman from Knightsville recently had her electric service disconnected.  She had missed the notices that she was past due because of medical reasons plus being out of her apartment she missed the phone messages too.  She asked if Change for a Dollar could assisted with getting the electric reconnected but that sometimes is very costly.  She was able to make enough of a payment after explaining the situation to SCE&G and was spared reconnection fees, etc.  She still had a small balance due after her electric was reconnected and Change for a Dollar assisted in bringing her account up to date with an additional payment.

SCE&G payment - $93.84

Working Mom in need of assistance – March 24, 2016

A woman who lives in a Habit for Humanity house in Summerville is steadily employed.  She recently lost time from work and was falling behind in her mortgage and electric bills.  She reached out to several organizations and was referred to Change for a Dollar from the pastor of Dorchester Presbyterian Church which partially helped her with her mortgage.  Upon speaking with her it was determined that she had been back to work but needed some additional help getting back up to date on her budget.  Change for a Dollar assisted her in making a payment towards her electric bill thus lightening her current financial burden.

SCE&G payment - $250.00

Homeless man goes to college – March 16, 2016

A gentleman was working for the Coastal Carolina fair last year.  When the fair ended they laid off several workers and a couple of men were stranded in the area with no job or place to live.  One fellow remained homeless on the streets of Summerville for a couple of months until a bed became available at the local men’s homeless shelter.  After a couple of months picking up odd jobs he explored other options.  He looked at going back to school to get a more stable job.  He applied to Piedmont Technical School in upstate SC and was accepted.  He applied for and received some grants and scholarships.  He lacked sufficient funds for transportation to school in Greenwood SC or any funds for accommodations.  Change for a Dollar assisted with transportation, two nights lodging in a hotel prior to his school orientation and several food gift cards.

Transportation, lodging & food cards - $336.00

Prescription assistance for men in homeless shelter - Feb 29, 2016

Several men from Summerville’s Homeless Shelter for Men became ill this past winter.  Some needed to see a doctor and were given prescriptions for their colds and flu.  A couple of them had the funds to pay for the prescriptions but several lacked sufficient funds to pay for their medications.  Change for a Dollar assisted in paying for their medications.

Movie tickets and popcorn - $100

Kids get to go to movies for the first time - Feb 27, 2016

Several families that attend the Expanding the Table food truck dinners have a few children who join in as well.  The volunteers that are part of that mission have become close to many of these families.  It came to light that many of the youngers, one 11 years old, had never been to the movies in their entire life.  Two volunteers offered to take 6 of the kids to the movies for one Saturday afternoon matinee.  Kung Fu Panda 3 was playing in the theaters and the kids were excited at the prospect of going to see the movie.  A date was scheduled and they all attended and enjoyed popcorn as well.  Change for a Dollar covered the cost of the movies outing for the kids.  A fun time was had by all.

Movie tickets and popcorn - $70