Summerville man in need of assistance – December 13, 2015

Expanding the Table participated in the 2015 Summerville Christmas Parade.  During the parade set up a gentleman from Summerville noticed someone he knew in our group of parade participants.  He was a coach with a group of young boys from a little league football team that were participants in the parade as well.  They talked and caught up and during the conversation it came to light that his truck was in for repairs and he was short the money to pay for the repairs and was currently walking to his job.  Change for a Dollar offered to help with a partial payment for the repairs.

Car repair payment - $100.00

Single man loses job, car at risk of repossession – December 2, 2015

A 63 single man was living with a friend.  He had a job and was contributing to the rent and expenses.  He recently lost his job due to health reasons and was applying for disability.  The friends were working with him letting him stay without contributing while he waited for his disability to be approved.  However, he had a car payment that was past due and the car was at risk of being repossessed.  His friends did not have the means to help with the car payment and he was seeking assistance through Trident United Way.  Change for a Dollar helped by making the car payment plus the $5.00 late fee.

Car payment - $250.00

Homeless woman seeks closure with family – November 21, 2015

A homeless Summerville woman has been living on the streets for many months.  She has family in Georgia but has been estranged for many years since her divorce.  Her parents are of very limited means, getting very old and frail and this woman was looking to reconcile with them before it was too late and possibly return home to join them.  She was very anxious about the meeting but felt she needed to reach out.  Change for a Dollar offered to assist if she decided to make the trip in hopes of a good outcome.  After a couple of weeks considering the offer she took us up on the assistance.  Change for a Dollar paid for a bus ticket to GA plus a couple nights in a hotel for her to clean up before the visit.  Last word was she was staying at the parents’ house after the hotel stay.  A good sign.

Trip to GA – $63.00 bus ticket, $203.07 hotel – total $266.07

Single mom evicted, relocating up north – November 6, 2015

A single mom in Summerville was living with some relatives for the past serval years.  She recently lost her job and there was some conflict within the household.  The tension came to a head in recent weeks and the relative informed her that she had to leave the house.  After a few days of living in her car with her children see began to reach out to agencies for assistance.  There was no vacancies in any shelters and she ran the risk of having trouble with DSS for living in her car.  She had other family in Massachusetts who she was in communication with and told her she come to stay with them.  They did not have enough resources to make the trip.  Change for a Dollar was approached for help and we provided gas cards for the trip up north.

Gas Cards – $100.00

Homeless man needed help to get medical care – Nov 2, 2015

A Summerville Homeless man was assaulted a couple of weeks ago.  As a result of the assault he required surgery that wired his jaw back together.  He recently lost his job and was due for a follow up visit to the surgeon to have the wires removed from his jaw.  He was conserving gas in his car for job hunting and asked for help with a gas card to get downtown to MUSC for the follow-up medical visit.  Change for a Dollar purchased him a gas card.

Gas card - $25

Bus Ticket for homeless man - October 30, 2015

As Summerville homeless man was looking to get into the new homeless shelter in town.  Unfortunately, the man had an outstanding legal matter out of state that would result in blocking his entrance to the shelter.  He explained the situation to ARC owners who know him and requested help.  After reviewing the circumstances and discussing options Change for a Dollar purchased a round trip bus ticket for this man to resolve his matters out of state.  He returned after a couple of days and was transported to the homeless shelter where he now resides.

Bus Ticket – $206.00

Bible for struggling young man - October 23, 2015

A guest of Expanding the Table was going through some difficult times and didn’t have any supportive family to turn to.  He suffered a bad accident one evening and was hospitalized as a result.  He had been communicating with one of the food truck volunteers and that was the person he called from the hospital.  The volunteer made a visit to him in the hospital and he was a bit upset.  During the visit he asked if the volunteer would get him a Bible.  Change for a Dollar purchased an easy to read bible / study guide.

Bible – $40.00

Bus ticket for woman stranded in Tennessee - Oct 16, 2015

The daughter of a Summerville woman who regularly attends the Expanding the Table dinners was working in Tennessee with her brother while her children stayed with a grandmother in Summerville.  She and her brother had some trouble with the law while in Tennessee and served a short jail sentence.  Both were anxious to return home to Summerville but needed to attend some counseling classes upon release from jail.  They both thought they had completed all the requirements.  They were stopped by Summerville police one night and a checked indicated that the sister had a warrant in Tennessee for missing a counseling session.  She was extradited back to TN and cleared up the issue in a matter of days but was now stranded in Chattanooga.  The family asked for assistance in getting the young woman back to her children in Summerville.  Change for Dollar paid for a bus ticket from Chattanooga to Summerville.

Bus Ticket – $127.00

Homeless women gets in out of rain storm – Oct 2, 2015

A young Summerville woman who regularly attends the Expanding the Table dinner is homeless.  For many months she was living in a storage unit until being evicted a couple of months ago. Since it was during the summer she was sleeping in the local parks on the warm evenings and was looking to set up a secluded “camp site” but had not yet found something.  With the recent record rainfalls and no place to get of the elements Change for a Dollar put her up in a local hotel for the duration of the storm.

Hotel room, 3 nights - $188.01

Knightsville Dad finally gets job – Oct 1, 2015

A Knightsville Dad who recently got divorced and shortly thereafter lost his job has been struggling with his bills.  His home was in danger of being foreclosed but was able to buy some time.  He has a pay as you go electric account with Berkeley County Electric and Change for a Dollar helped him out with a small payment on his account last month.  He was very grateful.  He recently got a job and was expecting his first paycheck next week.  He only had $11 left on his electric account and was fearful the electric would be disconnected before his first paycheck.  Change for a Dollar helped out with another payment to his electric account.  He has offered to repay the gift in the near future.

Berkeley Electric – 125.00

Homeless man out of jail, off to rehab – Sept 27, 2015

A homeless man from Summerville had to spend two weeks in jail for being convicted for public intoxication.  He is well known in the community and liked by all who know him but continues to struggle with his alcoholism.  As luck would have it his counselor had him scheduled to go into detox followed by rehab on the day he was picked up to serve his time.  He was devastated as he was prepared to make some changes in his life.  Change for a Dollar monitored his time in jail and when he was released he was sober for 2 weeks and still looking forward to changing his life around.  When he got out of jail there was a few days delay before he could get into rehab as he detoxed in jail.  Change for a Dollar put him up in a hotel for a few days away from his “stomping grounds” and set up a network of people to check in on him and support him until he was off to rehab.

Hotel Stay - $188.01

Homeless Dad, bus ticket to family up north – Sept 27, 2015

A homeless single Dad with two small kids had been living in a small local Summerville church for several months.  He was unable to get work as he needed flexibility to be available for his kids during the summer.  A shelter in Walterboro was supposed to take them in but there was an issue with some paperwork and he was turned away.  He was a regular at the Expanding the Table dinners and many of the volunteers tried various ways to help him out.  They got close to the two kids and even helped them with school supplies at the start of school.  After several attempts to work things out for himself and his kids in Summerville some family in Illinois finally agreed to take them in.  Change for a Dollar assisted with bus tickets and food gift cards for the 2 ½ day bus trip.

Greyhound - $213.30 + $100.00

Single Dad, needed help with rent/electric – Sept 14, 2015

A local man who was recently divorced had been concerned about his daughter.  He recently had received custody of his daughter through the courts.  In the process his finances were stretched.  He also at the same time had not gotten as much work as he had in the past.  His rent and electric bill were overdue.  Change for a Dollar helped pay his electric bill, thus preventing a shut off.

SCE - $230.40

Bicycle repair for Homeless man Sept 7, 2015

A local homeless man who lives in the woods rides a bicycle for transportation.  One day the “critters”, most likely squirrels, chewed up his bicycle seat.  For the past few weeks he had been riding with the seat missing half of its padding.  Additionally, the Ashley Ridge Food truck mission, Expanding the Table, has been helping distribute bicycles from a local bicycle mission to the guests who lack transportation.  In addition to buying the new seat for the homeless man Change for a Dollar supplied bicycle locks for several of the bicycle recipients.

Bicycle Supplies - $56.00

Homeless man in need of medical supplies – Sept 5, 2015

A local homeless man was admitted to the hospital a couple of weeks ago for a serious infection.  He spent eight days in the hospital on IV antibiotics.  He had a large open wound from treatment in the hospital that needed post hospitalization treatment.  He lacked the means to pay for medications, over the counter medicines and medical supplies to keep the wound clean while he heals.  Change for a Dollar arranged for him to get the necessary supplies through Guerin’s Pharmacy in Summerville to treat himself.  Change for a Dollar paid for the supplies.

Medical Supplies - $100.00

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