Change for a Dollar – 1/27/14

A young lady, a former ARC Community Youth participant now a college student, did some community service over the Christmas break at a North Charleston elementary School.  She and her friends noticed some children scavenging for food scraps and decided to look into their situation.  They found these children were living as a families in a small motel room.  She and her friends decided to search them out and found one family in a local hotel by the school.  A mother and her six children were facing being put out of the hotel because the mother lost her job and could no longer pay for the room.  These young adults took it upon themselves to try to do what they could to help this family, find the mother work, find a less expensive hotel, raise money for food for the family and whatever else they could do the keep the family off the streets. The former ARC student approached Change for a Dollar for assistance and we provided her with funds toward the hotel room.

Amount $168.00

Change for a Dollar – 1/27/14

A women, a single Mom with a middle school aged son, is struggling with several issues, one being she has a part time job and her hours have been limited at this time of year.  She gets no support from her ex-husband and struggles to pay her bills.  Change for a Dollar helped with a Bi Lo food gift card as she is not eligible for food stamps.

Amount $50

Change for a Dollar – 1/23/14

During the week of Jan 20 the weather was forecast to be in the teen’s towards the end of the week.  The Change for a Dollar team was aware of a homeless man living in the woods in Summerville.  When we contacted him to see if he had a place to stay for those two nights out of the cold, he indicated he did not.  He also told us of another man living in the woods in Summerville nearby his location.  We asked that he check with him to see if he had a place and he did not.  Change for Dollar and ARC Outreach put these two men up in the hotel during the two frigid nights.

Amount $63

Change for a Dollar – 1/20/14

A women, a single Mom with two middle school aged children, contacted ARC for assistance with her rent.  The Change for a Dollar team set up an interview with the woman to explore her needs.  She has just switched jobs to pick up additional hours and had fallen behind a bit in her rent while waiting for her checks to start coming regular.  She is also attending school to be a Medical Assistant and was nearing graduation.  Because of school she can only work part time and struggles to make the bills as her ex-husband is not making any regular child support payments.  She brought her children with her and by all accounts the children were well behaved and the woman appears to be a good mom trying to make a better life for her family.  Unfortunately, Change for a Dollar did not have enough funds to pay the entire rent but we did pay 50 % of her past due amount for which she was very appreciative.

Amount $300

Change for a Dollar – 1/17/14

A women, a single Mom with two young girls, arrived at the Medical Outreach Clinic of Summerville seeking assistance with getting prescriptions refilled.  She suffers from PTSD as a result of a rape and needs several medications.  Her husband recently left her because he was unable to deal with the wife’s mental health condition (and the youngest child is also the result of the rape) so she is no longer able to afford the doctor as that was her only source of income.  The woman has two children ages two and three and lives in a small house she inherited from an uncle so thankfully she has no rent or mortgage.  She has applied for disability as she is unable to work as a result of her condition and is scheduled to receive assistance and services but that is still weeks away.  Change for a Dollar inquired as to her overall financial situation and her electric bill was past due and she did not have the means to pay it.  Change for a Dollar made a payment to Berkeley County Electric Coop on her account.

Amount $178

Change for a Dollar – 1/14/14

When checking with a past recipient of C4$, a single Mom who is battling breast cancer, we became aware that she needed to make a trip to Virginia for her other sons surgery.  Her 20 year old son who lives with his Dad in Virginia suffers from a brain tumor and is facing a risky surgery with less than an optimistic prognosis.  The mother wanted to be there when he had the surgery but her finances are already stretched very thin that she was fearing eviction from her apartment amongst other things as a result of a being away from work.  Change for a Dollar helped with some of her travel expenses for gas and food so she could make the trip.

Amount $131

Change for a Dollar – 1/14/14

When checking with a past recipient of C4$, a homeless man, he informed us of a need to pay his cell phone bill.  In the past a family member had paid his "pay as you go" cell phone plan but there has been a recent change in some of the family dynamics and he has lost that assistance.  Since he has some serious health concerns and needs to go to the hospital often he needs a way of staying in touch given his limited mobility.  Change for a Dollar helped him by paying for two months of his cell phone plan so he has a way of staying connected.

Amount $100

Change for a Dollar – 1/8/14

When checking with a past recipient of C4$, a homeless man, he informed us of the fact there was another homeless couple living in a tent in Summerville.  We were checking to see if he was going to be OK with the upcoming cold snap when we became aware of this other couple who were going to be exposed to weather also.  He only had a description of the woman and that she worked at a local fast food restaurant in town.  C4$ went to the restaurant to see if we could locate this couple.  She was not working that day but the manager on duty said she had a way of getting in touch with them.  We gave her our phone number to share with the couple and asked they give us a call.  About an hour later the woman called and we discussed their situation and they indeed were still living in the tent and the woman was battling a cold as well. C4$ offered to put them up in a hotel for the two nights where the weather was forecast to be below freezing.  C4$ has a relationship with a local hotel and we put them up in a room so they were out of the cold for those two days.

Amount $125

Change for a Dollar – 1/6/14

Change for a Dollar checked with a homeless person that we had recently helped.  With the coming cold snap there was a concern that he had a way to get out of the cold based upon the forecasted weather.  He was found at his usual spot at the library and we discussed his current situation.  He was still recovering from the surgery on his leg and was still living in the tent.  C4$ bought him breakfast that morning and talked to him about the weather situation and his current living conditions.  He was in need of some items for his “home” / tent and we purchased those items and set him up with a tab at Waffle House for a week’s worth of meals.  Additionally C4$ offered to put him up in a hotel for the two nights that the weather was forecast to be below freezing.  He said he had an offer for a stay at a friend’s house for one of the nights and I was to check with him the following day to see if he needed the second night out of the cold.  The friend extended the offer for the second night so he did not need the hotel room.  He was thankful for the meals and the supplies for his tent

Amount $115

Change for a Dollar – 12/16/2013

Change for a Dollar received a request for some assistance directly from a family of seven.  The father works seasonal work and the mother was currently out of work waiting to be called back as soon as business picks up at the construction company where she works.  They initially had a need for assistance with rent but got some family to help with that but were still in danger of having their electric shut off.  Change for a Dollar was able to step in and prevent the electric from being cut off by paying the current bill.

Amount $158

Change for a Dollar – 12/15/2013

Change for a Dollar received a request from ARHS for a family that is a single Mom and high school age son.  The family recently had to move as a result of a divorce and was in need of some essential items for the home.  The mother works part time for the school district and was doing her best to provide for her son and pay the bills.  Their current needs for the home was for some basic bedding items.  Change for a Dollar provided those items for her.  Additionally, the young man is in the ROTC program at school and his mom did not have the monies to pay the necessary annual fees for the program.  Change for a Dollar stepped in and paid his fees for the year as well as purchased some items for his uniform.

Amount $65 + $88

Change for a Dollar – 12/9/2013

Change for a Dollar received a request from an ARC owner and her daughter "M" to help a woman suffering from breast cancer.  "M" works with this woman who is a single mom and also has another son who is very ill and requires surgery in the near future.  She works part time and gets very little financial support for her son.  She also has no health insurance but thankfully is in a program at MUSC that is providing treatment for the cancer.  She also must pay for prescriptions out of pocket that are about $400 per month.  The woman remains very upbeat in spite of her circumstances and the Change for a Dollar team is working to help her and her son in other ways.  When asked what her biggest need was at the moment she asked for help with groceries as she indicated she is not eligible for an EBT card.  Change for a dollar gave her $100 in Bi Lo gift cards and is exploring the possibility of helping with the prescriptions. She was very appreciative of the gifts.

Amount $100 +

Change for a Dollar – 12/9/2013

Change for a Dollar received a request from "C"  a gentlemen who is an ARC owner to help a single Mom within the community.  He frequents a local restaurant in Knightsville and often sees the same server whom he has talked with on several occasions.  It turns out she works several part time jobs and has two children, one in elementary and one in middle school.  He says she has always been pleasant and upbeat and she never complained about her situation and wasn’t asking for help.  However, he discovered in his conversations with her that she recently had to sell a college text book to help pay some bills.  He approached us and asked if we could help out this young mother at this time of year.  Change for a Dollar helped pay her electric bill.  A payment was made to her account on Monday.  She was very appreciative of the gift.

Amount $100

Change for a Dollar – 12/9/2013

Change for a Dollar received a request from Ashley Ridge High School regarding one of their part time workers.  A gentleman who works in the high school recently had to take in two of his grandchildren and provide them with care.  On an already tight budget this very sweet family had their resources stretched beyond their means.  Ashley Ridge Church is working with the family trying to get them connected resources within the community.  In the meantime Change for a Dollar helped pay some of the bills, specifically their electric bill.  A payment was made to his account on Monday.

Amount $100

Change for a Dollar – 12/1/2013

An ARC owner, S works with a man who is part of the East Cooper Baptist Church.  This fellow's men’s group from the church is sponsoring a family for Christmas and are giving the family toys and gifts for the children.  S suggested we join efforts with the East Cooper Baptist Church and help the mother of this family with some gift cards to Bi Lo so there will be ample food for Christmas day as well as the gifts for the children.  Change for a Dollar gave S Bi Lo cards to be added to the gift package.

Amount $100

Change for a Dollar – 11/25/2013

A patient came to Medical Outreach Clinic who was looking for assistance with prescriptions.  The clinic is not a dispensing pharmacy and was unable to help with the prescriptions.  The woman currently had insurance but was losing it the months to come as she was on unpaid disability from work and within the next few months her insurance would be terminated as would her employment.  She had applied for Social Security disability but in the meantime was unable to make the copays on her prescriptions.  Change for a Dollar partnered with Guerin’s pharmacy in Summerville to help transfer her prescriptions and Change for a Dollar paid up to $100 of her copays to help her out.

Amount $100

Change for a Dollar – 11/25/2013

T, a single mom initially asked for some help with her rent as she was facing eviction due to being unemployed.  She had to quit work as her baby sitter was less than reliable, her two year old wandered off as the sitter fell asleep on the job.  Thankfully her mother stepped in and was able to help with the rent.  She was also behind with her SCE&G bill and worked out a payment plan with them but needed $125 to start the plan.  Change for a Dollar paid the utility payment and T was hopeful of getting some seasonal work and a more reliable babysitter.

Amount $125

Change for a Dollar – 11/22/2013

E, a Knightsville single mom with two kids works as a server in a restaurant.  She lives in subsidized housing and recently was recertified as a result of getting a job.  As a result of being employed she now had to contribute to the rent and pay utilities per the recertification.   While she had been able to pay the bills with her income so far, she had a few slow weeks as a result of the fair being in town and has fallen behind a bit.  She has been ensured by her employer that with the holidays approaching the business as well as her income should pick up.  Change for a Dollar helped pay her past due rent with $150 and she still had a small balance due plus late fees but the rental company said they would waive the fees if the balance due of $10 was paid.  Erica committed to pay the remaining balance.

Amount $150

Change for a Dollar – 11/22/2013

J, an Ashley Ridge Owner asked for assistance to help the families of the Hampton Oaks apartments fire last week in N Charleston.  Thirteen families have been displaced as a result of the fire and were in need of “everything”.  J has a relationship with the Charleston Apartment Association who was asking for assistance from the community for the families in need.  Change for a Dollar was able to assist by providing five gift cards to Bi-Lo for food for the families.  J delivered the gift cards to the Association for distribution.

Amount $125

Change for a Dollar – 11/22/2013

M, a young pregnant woman with an elementary school child, whose husband was arrested for driving with a suspended license.  The husband had to do a 90 day jail sentence and is due for release mid-December.  The husband had a job and will still have it upon release.  We spoke with his employer who provides employment for former inmates.  The employer stated the husband was a good worker but had made some bad decisions but he felt he had potential.  The family fell behind on the rent as a result of the husband’s incarceration and was looking for assistance with that.  In speaking with the employer it turns out the employer paid the rent but he indicated the family had other needs such as food and utility payments.  Change for a Dollar was unable to pay the large deposit, late fees and arrears on the utility bills but was able to assist with providing some gift cards to Bi-Lo for food for the family.

Amount $100