Man needed tire for his truck, June 26, 2018

A gentleman who is a regular guest at the Expanding the Table serving site is often there with his young son.  He works but struggles to make ends meet.  Recently he was at the site and his truck had a flat tire.  He had an air pump he carried that he used to fill the tire several times a day.  He would every day or so also put in a can of Fix a Flat to help keep it inflated.  One of the ARC volunteers offered to see if they could get Change for a Dollar to help.  Change for a Dollar picked up a used tire and the ARC volunteer delivered it to the man the following day.

Used tire – $48.15

Disabled single mom and daughter sleeping on floor, June 17, 2018

A disabled single mom and her teenage daughter are regular guests at one of the Expanding the Table serving sites.  After the meal one evening one of the volunteers helped the family bring some meals back to their apartment and chatted with them a bit.  It turns out the mother’s sister who was living with them had to leave and they now were struggling with the loss of assistance she provided.  They had fallen behind on their electric bill and were two weeks away from a disconnect, had little food in the house and for some reason the apartment was almost totally bare of furniture.  There was only one chair in the house and a coffee table, they were sleeping on the floor.  Change for a Dollar offered to assist.  The electric bill was paid, a mattress was purchased for the teenage daughter and they were given a Walmart gift card and taken to do grocery shopping.  Other volunteers heard of the situation and donated a queen size mattress for the mother, others donated a kitchen table and chairs and another offered a couch and a love seat.  The family was much appreciative of all the help

Various - $100 Walmart card,, BJ's Mattress $97.19 & $281 SCE&G

Homeless couple living in truck, June 17, 2018

There is a local Summerville couple who are living in their truck.  The husband has been looking for work but was limited due to a bad back.  They had no gas for their vehicle and the meals were coming largely from local food pantries and soup kitchens.  Other folks in the community were helping them with water and a little gas to run the AC in the vehicle to try to avoid the current heat wave.  They were referred to other options to get out of the heat, a place to do laundry and take a shower but they did lack some other needed items such as clothing, specifically undergarments.  Change for a Dollar assisted them with two gift cards, one for Walmart to purchase food and clothing and a gas card to be able to fuel the vehicle for the husband to be able to seek employment and stay cool.

Gift cards - $100 Walmart & $50.00 Gas

Large demand for prescription medications for homeless, June 13, 2018

There is a local Summerville man who is homeless who is battling Stage 3B lung cancer.  Thankfully he is getting his radiation and chemotherapy though a local hospital charity program at this time. However, his medication to help him tolerate the treatments are not covered.  Between his ongoing need for prescriptions and a spike in the demand for medications for other homeless in the community, Change for a Dollar has been called on to assist once again.  Thankfully there exists a relationship with a local pharmacy that offers Change for a Dollar a discount on the cash price for the medications that allows us to assist the local homeless population.

Prescription medications - $200.00

Homeless woman needed room for a few nights, June 9, 2018

A regular guest at one of the Expanding the Table serving sites pointed out a Summerville woman to change for a Dollars who recently became homeless.  The woman was living with her daughter but there was trouble in the relationship and she needed to leave her daughter’s residence.  The woman had recently lost her job but was actively looking for new work.  A distant family relative was coming in from Walterboro to put her up in a hotel for a night or two but was not sure what else she could do as all the homeless shelters were full.  Change for a Dollar offered to get her two more nights in the hotel to buy her some additional time to get her situation under control.  Upon informing her that the room was paid for she indicated that she had gotten a job that morning and would be able to get back on her feet.

Two nights hotel stay - $154.00