Man loses job, wife, & family - Aug 29, 2015

An Ashley Ridge Church owner had a customer come to her workplace to pay a bill.  The gentleman was having financial difficulties.  He shared he had lost his job a while back and the pressure on the family caused his wife to leave him as well.  When she left she took what they had in their savings and left him and his adult daughter living with him with nothing.  Recently the daughter left him also to go live with the mother which left him in further despair.  He owns his home and is in risk of foreclosure but the bank so far has been working with him.  He has some equity in the house but with the marital troubles and the loss of savings he is afraid his credit will not position him well to rent or buy even if he sells.  Change for a Dollar connected him with some places for possible job opportunities.  Change for a Dollar helped this man out by making a payment on his current Berkeley County Electric bill and his water bill to lighten his financial burden in this difficult time.

Berkeley Electric & Dorchester Water Payment $215.00

Summerville man loses son in hit and run accident - Aug 4, 2015

A Summerville man recently relocated to Summerville to follow his job when the company relocated and offered employees the option to follow.  He was a divorced gentleman working hard to make a living and was happy when his adult son had chosen to come live with him in SC as well.  His son had a job at a local restaurant and was working to save money to buy a car.  He rode his bicycle to and from work each day.  One day he was working late at the restaurant and was riding home in the late evening when he was struck by a vehicle going at excessive speed, according to the skids marks at the accident scene.  The driver never stopped. The young man suffered severe injuries and was transported to the hospital.  His Dad was woken by a phone call from the doctor and was able to be with his son at the hospital.  Due to the massive head injuries the son died in the early morning hours of the next day.  The father incurred considerable costs in transporting his son’s remains back to their original home state where there was more friends and family.  Change for a Dollar helped this man out with paying his current Berkeley County Electric bill to lighten his financial burden in this difficult time.

Berkeley County Elec Coop Payment $183.00

Disabled Couple, electric bill assistance - Aug 5, 2015

An elderly couple from Summerville who are both on disability live in an apartment that is in a bit of disrepair.  They have tried to get the landlord to fix drafty doors and windows but the response has been slow.  They try to cover the gaps with towels etc. in the winter but their gas and electric bills are especially high during the heating and cooling seasons.  They fell behind a bit after the winter but were making steady partial payments up until this month where they couldn’t pay the bill because of choosing to put food on the table depleted the required funds wanted by SCE&G.  They were in danger of disconnect so Change for a Dollar helped them out and paid the disconnect amount preventing the shut off.

SCE&G Payment $216.43

Homeless woman evicted from storage unit – Aug 1, 2015

A couple of volunteers from the Expanding the Table Food Truck were approached by a homeless man asking that we help a woman in his homeless community.  The young woman had been living in a 5 foot by 5 foot storage unit for the past year.  There were other homeless people living at the facility as well, some who were jumping the fence after hours, and when the owner became aware of the security violations he evicted all of them.  The woman had no place to stay and was looking for someone to help her move her belongings to a friends shed as she was planning to sleep on the streets until she found someplace else to settle into.  A few volunteers helped her move her belongings and ARC Change for a Dollar offered to put her up in a hotel for the next two nights as thunderstorms were predicted for those evenings.  She was able to get in from the rains, at least for a couple of days, and have a real bed to sleep in for a couple of nights while she worked on plans for where she would reside going forward.

Hotel stay $125.34

Single Mom with 4 kids, no food - July 31, 2015

An ARC owner became aware of a single mom who at the end of the month was lacking funds to buy groceries for her family.  Although the family is on food stamps lately it has not been enough to sustain the growing family.  Mom regularly struggles to make ends meet and was now wondering how she would feed her children until she was able to get more funds.  The ARC owner brought her some groceries for the next day or two and asked if Change for a Dollar could assist as well.  Change for a Dollar purchased grocery gift cards to be given to the single mom. .

BiLo Gift cards $200.00