Two homeless girls given bicycles – October 26, 2019

A Summerville woman who has had a passion for helping the poor and homeless in the community is a bus driver for the local schools.  Her route at times takes her to some of the poorer communities in Summerville.  This year on her route was a homeless family, a single Mom with several kids, was temporarily staying at a friend’s house for a couple of months.  The woman got to know the two new girls and found out that they were homeless and they never had a bicycle of their own.   Many of the other kids in this neighborhood had bicycles but these girls always were left out of group bike rides with neighborhood kids. The bus diver known for helping out those in need did not have the means to assist at this time.  She approached Change for a Dollar for possible assistance and two bicycles were purchased from Walmart and given to the bus driver to give to the girls.

Two girl’s bikes - $196.00

Disabled woman forced to move – needed bed – October 22, 2019

A disabled Summerville woman was forced to move from her neighborhood as a result of gentrification.  The property owner was removing the several rental trailers on the property to make way for development of new homes.  The woman had lived in the trailer for many years and when asked to move out she was blessed to find another rental trailer only a short distance away in neighboring Lincolnville.  During the move the bed was left behind as it was in very poor shape and she began sleeping on an inflatable air mattress.  This was very difficult for her because her disability was related to a bad hip and getting up and down was very difficult.  Change for a Dollar was approached for assistance and was able to have a twin mattress and frame shipped to her new home.

Twin bed $219.07

Young family sharing a vehicle needed tires – October 14, 2019

A young family in Summerville was working hard to support their family of five.  They only had one vehicle between them and both mom and dad worked full time.  The couple both work for small businesses and don’t have large salaries but are doing their best to raise their kids and pay the bills.  They have a very busy schedule with day care and jobs at different locations and are juggling the sharing of the car and dropping each other off at work.  They had gotten a blow out and were driving on the “donut” spare when Change for Dollar noticed it and offered to assist.  Upon inspection of the other tires it was apparent that the vehicle was in need of two tires as one of the other tires had very little tread left.  Change for a Dollar wanted the family to have good tires for transporting all the kids around so two tires were purchased for the vehicle.

Two tires $118.48

Teachers help family victims of a shooting – October 10, 2019

Two local teachers helped out a family that were victims of a shooting where a student was shot at the end of the summer break.  The teachers, a husband and wife, took in one of the family members upon discharge from the hospital to care for her.  Additionally they took in other family members that were later released from the hospital as there was too much trauma for the family to return to their home at this time.  Change for a Dollar was approached to see if there was some way to help the family with the additional financial burden they incurred while caring for the family of the student that was shot.  A food gift card was purchased to help replenish the family pantry and offset food costs to help with the other costs of housing the survivors.

BiLo gift card - $100

Man struggles to recover from “perfect storm” – October 1, 2019

A local Summerville man who was down on his luck is a friend of a fellow who attends a small group at Ashley Ridge Church.  It was revealed that he was struggling all around as several of life’s challenges struck him all at once.  Part of that was he had lost his job in the midst of it all and was very despondent.  The gentleman from the small group works in construction and was aware through his contacts of a hotel renovation job that was out of state.  He was able to get this fellow a job, which was ideal as he was able to stay at the hotel rent free for the duration of the job.  The small group took up a donation to help with his transportation to the job but he needed some basic tools.  Change for a Dollar was approached and assisted with paying for the purchase of some hand tools to get him started.

Home Depot hand tools - $120.18

Chef Jackets for homeless woman – September 24, 2019

A women at the local homeless shelter in Summerville had been able to secure a better paying job as a chef at a local hotel kitchen.  A significant step up from the fast food restaurants she had been working.  She was required to wear a chef’s jacket on the job but only had one and had to wash it every night and it was a bit stained. The shelter has a good supply of clothing and does get uniform donations at times but no chef jacket was available.  Change for a Dollar offered to assist by getting her both long sleeve and short sleeve jackets so she now can have a clean one for work each day.

Four Chef jackets - $91.34

Application Study bibles for Homeless women – September 23, 2019

Several women from a local homeless shelter have been attending a weekly bible study facilitated by a local church.  The shelter has several bibles that were donated but were standard bibles without any application notes that the women felt were not easily readable.  Change for a Dollar was approached to see if we could help.  A women’s edition NIV application study bible was found on line and several were ordered for the ladies.  They now fully enjoy participating as they find the application notes and supplemental material in the text allows them to more fully participate each week in the study.

Three bibles - $128.28

Homeless woman needed uniform for work – August 30, 2019

A local Summerville homeless woman was seeking employment as she worked to get back on her feet.  The local homeless shelter she was staying at was able to help her with clothing but the job she was seeking required that she have specialized clothing.  It was working at a large hotel chain which required the maintenance and housekeeping staff to wear hospital like scrubs for the job, something the shelter did not have on hand and no donations of such were forth coming to the facility.  Change for a Dollar was approached for assistance.  C4$ bought her a pair of black hospital scrubs for her job.

Uniform /scrubs – $37.41

Assisted homeless woman return to Connecticut – August 24, 2019

A local Summerville homeless woman was staying at a shelter upon arrival from Florida.  She was having difficulty staying employed and was looking into other options.  During her 2 month stay in Summerville she had been communicating with family in Connecticut and had been able to reconnect with her once estranged father.  In discussing options with the family it became possible for her to go back to Connecticut and stay with her father and stepmother until she found employment and was able to get a place of her own.  She did not have enough funds for the trip up north so Change for a Dollar was approached for assistance.  C4$ was able to get her a train ticket from Charleston and gave her a few dollars travel money to get to her father’s place.

Amtrak ticket and travel money – $67 + $50 = $117

Disabled woman moving assistance – August 23, 2019

A local Summerville woman who is disabled recently needed to move from her trailer because the property owner was removing the trailers and selling the property for development.  She receives a regular monthly disability payment but lacked the full amount needed for the deposit on moving into a new rental property.  Change for a Dollar was approached for assistance.  The full deposit was six hundred dollars and Change for a Dollar was able to assist with a portion of the deposit which helped her get relocated.  She has since moved in and is very appreciative for the help.

Rental Deposit Assistance - $150.00

Kids in need of uniforms and school supplies – August 3, 2019

A couple of local kids who have been guests of Expanding the Table and have attended ARC youth program are from families that struggle greatly financially.  With the school year beginning many budgets are stretched thin.  An ARC volunteer approached C4$ for possible assistance to help with school supplies and also the much needed uniforms for the kids.  The volunteer did some shopping at the local Walmart for the kids and C4$ was able to reimburse her the cost of supplies and clothing.

School Supplies and clothing - $183.84

ETT guest needed telephone – July 28, 2019

A regular Expanding the Table guest who is disabled broke her phone.  She had it for many years and it was a basic flip phone but it had seen better days.  Cell phones are practically a necessity these days especially in the poor and homeless communities as it is a life line to their world.  This guest asked a volunteer with ETT if there was a way to get a new phone.  She was not looking for a Smartphone, but just a regular replacement for her old phone.  Change for a Dollar checked with Walmart and they had a pay as you go phone that was very similar to her old phone.  C4$ picked up the phone and two monthly payment cards for unlimited talk and text.

Phone and two phone cards - $76.94

An elderly homeless woman needed a room– July 10, 2019

An elderly Summerville woman who is homeless was dropped off at the local woman’s shelter by the police.  They were concerned as she was hungry and in need of a shower and had no family or friends.  The shelter was full but even so she was not appropriate as she was on social security and was not interested in working full time, one of the shelter’s requirements.  The police didn’t know what to do with her and the staff at the shelter had tried to get her placed elsewhere but it was getting late in the day and nothing was working out.  Change for a Dollar was approached to see if we could assist in some manner.  C4$ was able to put her up in a local hotel for two nights to allow her time to make some calls and make more permanent arrangements.

Two night’s hotel - $150

Air Conditioners for folks at ETT– June 25, 2019

This time of the year when the weather starts to get hot many folks living in very modest conditions often suffer in the heat.  Many live in homes with inoperative Air Conditioning units or they may have moved into a place without one.  Several volunteers in the Expanding The Table  mission over the course of the past week were approached by guests with stories of having no AC.  One had moved to a new place without it, another had their unit fail during a power surge during a lightning storm and another had been without one for a couple of years and was asking if we could possibly assist.  Thankfully Change for a Dollar had not had a request for assistance in a couple of weeks and there was just enough funds to cover the three units.  The air conditioners were delivered to folks at the meal serving site and several of the other guests offered to assist with their installations.

Lowes – 3 single room ACs - $642.64

A homeless woman a wanted bible– June 21, 2019

A woman who is homeless was able to be placed in the new women’s homeless shelter in town.  The shelter is a faith based shelter and will always have bibles on hand to share with the guests if they desire one.  There was one guest at the facility who was feeling very blessed to have a place to sort out her issues and had begun taking an interest in church worship and bible studies and had requested a bible. The translation of the bible she was reading was presenting some challenges for her given her reading level.  A volunteer had suggested the NIrV translation, which is an early reader’s version, which is well suited for youth and easy to read.  While it was a youth bible the woman was very excited to be able to easily read the chapters and verses and was thrilled that the Word was coming alive for her.  She also has two middle school children that she thought when she visited with them they could read it together and when she was ready for a different translation she planned to pass it on to her kids.

NIrV bible – $32.88

A homeless woman at ETT serving– June 2, 2019

A woman who visited Doty Park in Summerville had recently become homeless and asked an Expanding the Table volunteer for help. The woman who was a resident of Summerville left town a few weeks earlier to go to another state with a boyfriend in hopes of a new start.  After a few weeks there the boyfriend kicked her out and she got on a bus to come back to the Lowcountry.  She had hoped to stay with her parents in Summerville but upon return that was not an option.   The ETT volunteer offered to put her up in a local hotel for a couple of nights as the women’s homeless shelter was still a week or so away from opening.  The volunteer asked if Change for a Dollar could help as well and we were able to extend her stay for a few extra days to allow her time to try to make arrangements. We paid for her three night stay at the local hotel.

Economy Inn Hotel – 3 nights - $195.00

Autistic man and mother in need of help– May 25, 2019

A single mom who is a regular guest at the Expanding the Table dinner has an autistic adult male son she cares for.  He is a large young man who is prone to having violent outbursts when he gets agitated.  His mother is able in part to keep him calm by allowing him to listen to Gospel music on her cell phone but it is often problematic when she gets a call or needs the phone herself.  Change for a Dollar was asking the folks at the serving site if there was anything we could do to assist the mother to help with the son.  In discussions it came up that the mother could afford to pay for additional minutes on a phone plan but didn’t have enough money to purchase her son his own phone.  Change for a Dollar offered to get the young man his own phone thereby allowing the mother to keep her phone and in turn she could help control her son’s behavior/ outbursts by him having his own phone.

Walmart “pay as you go phone” and data plan cards. - $184.82

A homeless women picked up on I26– May 16, 2019

A woman, who was acting as a Good Samaritan, contacted one of the ARC volunteers she knew regarding a homeless woman she encountered at an Interstate I26 rest stop.   The woman who was a resident of Texas for some unknown reason got on a bus headed to the Lowcountry in hopes of finding a place to stay and a job. The Good Samaritan woman brought her to the local Summerville Community Resource Center in hopes of finding help for her. The ARC volunteer asked if Change for a Dollar could help with a few days hotel stay for the woman to help her have a place to try to come up with a plan.  Change for a Dollar assisted by paying for her three nights stay in a hotel.

Economy Inn - $195.00

A women in need of medication for pneumonia – May 15, 2019

A Summerville woman who is a guest at Expanding the Table recently became ill. The illnesses developed into serious chest congestion where she wanted to go to the hospital.  She contacted one of the volunteers from the ETT ministry for a ride to the hospital. Upon being seen in the ER she was diagnosed with pneumonia and discharged with a couple of prescriptions.  She has very limited income from a piece work job and she wasn’t able to afford the medication.  Change for a Dollar was asked to assist.  We paid for her three prescriptions.

Publix Pharmacy - $31.61

Homeless man needed new tires on vehicle– April 13, 2019

A man who is a guest at a local homeless has a vehicle for transportation to work.  The tires were in poor condition and he got a flat.  When he went for the spare it was dry rot and almost flat as well.  He was stranded without two of the tires.  Thankfully he was just down the road from the shelter and limped home of the near flat spare.  Change for a Dollar assisted him with the purchase of two new tires so he could get back on the road and resume his job.

Walmart tires - $110.00