Helping Out for Dec. 19, 2018

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Helping Out highlights some of the many charitable events and activities going on in the Charleston area. ATTENTION: Submissions should now be made using our online form.

The Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission and Save the Light Inc. will host their annual half marathon and 5K, set for Feb. 2. Both races start at 8:30 a.m. and will begin and finish near the Folly Beach Pier. The half marathon is a run-only event; the 5K is open to runners and walkers.

The races support the preservation of the Morris Island Lighthouse by Save the Light, a grass-roots nonprofit formed in 2000 to save the lighthouse from being lost to the sea. Register online or call 843-795-4386.

Aaron Marley, owner of three Biggby Coffee locations in South Carolina, encouraged his employees and customers to participate in the Michigan-based company’s Giving is Getting Campaign to raise money for suicide awareness. The S.C. coffee shops raised $1,400 for the S.C. chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

South Carolina suicide prevention advocates were invited into Marley’s coffee shops as a support system for people struggling with suicidal thoughts or who have been affected by suicide, the company said in a news release.

“These advocates opened their arms and hearts as a safe place to talk about suicidal feelings and encourage those ones who have been impacted by suicide in a safe, judgement-free zone,” the news release said.

The Berkeley Chamber’s Leadership Berkeley graduates decided to furnish the Dorchester Children’s Advocacy Center’s play area with new toys as part of their class project.

The center is a nonprofit serving child victims of abuse and neglect. More than half of its clients are Berkeley County residents.

The Leadership Berkeley class also secured a donation from Wonder Works and a $1,000 donation from Home Telecom for the nonprofit.

SCORE Charleston SC was awarded a 2018 Lighting the Way Award and a $75,000 grant for its contributions to the small business community in the Charleston region.

The SunTrust Foundation’s Lighting the Way Awards recognize nonprofits that strengthen their local communities through programs that help people better their circumstances and gain financial confidence.

The funding will support SCORE’s programs for veteran-owned and woman-owned businesses. The SunTrust Foundation awarded $2.7 million to nonprofits in 2018.

William Means Real Estate is donating $10,000 to the Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Health pediatric palliative care program.

The donation will fund research by Dr. Conrad Williams, a pediatrician dedicated to helping families and their children with end-of-life care. The donation is a combination of contributions from William Means agents who donated a portion of their 2018 sales, as well as a company contribution.

“We are incredibly grateful for this gift,” Williams said in a news release. “Because of how health care payments work, a pediatric palliative care program often relies heavily on support from the community. This gift will go a long way in helping us to achieve our dream of making sure every child with a serious illness and their family is able to benefit from high-quality palliative care whether in their home, an intensive care unit at MUSC, and everywhere else in between.”