Charleston magazine Society blog

The Hibernian was bathed in blue on Thursday for the marvelously well-attended Giving Back Awards hosted by Charleston magazine. The chic modern decor came courtesy of the fun-loving gals at Soiree, and the decadent party bites were supplied by Cru Catering. Attendees were handsomely attired (check out the photo gallery), and the mood was ebullient.

A video presentation by the Chart Group shed light on the good deeds carried out by each of the winners: Frances Fike, recipient of the Benevolent Spirit Award; Jeff Taylor, Creative Spirit; The Muhler Company; Philanthropic Spirit; Wings for Kids, Community Spirit. The heartfelt applause was plentiful, and many attendees commented on the inspirational tone of the event. Guests included magazine staffers, Kenton Morrison (Gibbes Museum of Art), Randal Felkel (RSVP Shoppe), Tish Lynn (Coastal Community Foundation), Nandini McCauley (College of Charleston School of the Arts), Louis Yuhasz (Louie’s Kids), and Bryte Lesesne Van Dalen (Lesesne).

To read more about these local heroes, pick up the current issue of Charleston magazine.

I had hoped to make it to skirt! magazine’s innovative Brava event, but overlapping party times prohibited my attendance. I hear it too was well-attended.

Thousands turned out for Saturday’s first-ever ChazzFest: Charleston Music & Heritage Festival. The event featured a stellar line-up of musicians, which culminated in a electrifying performance by the one and only Al Green. Other highlights included a spirited performance by the Drifters and the presence of T&T’s Original Kettle Korn. Check out the photo gallery to see who turned out for the daylong concert.

The Fete Set blog enjoyed quite the exciting inaugural week thanks to a variety of events that spanned the gamut of Charleston’s largesse. Women Making a Difference, a grassroots giving circle, held a clothing drive to benefit Dress for Success last Sunday. Trident United Way’s Day of Caring on Monday sent a volunteer army into the community for a service project blitz. Charleston magazine’s Giving Back Awards on Thursday celebrated the spirit of local philanthropy. The audible jubilee known as ChazzFest took over the Family Circle Tennis Center on Saturday as it raised money for VH-1 Save the Music Foundation, the International African American Museum, and the American College of the Building Arts. The Friends of the College of Charleston’s School of the Arts held a lovely afternoon reception on Sunday to kickoff a new year of cultural stimulation and academic achievement.

This week takes the Fete Set to the Hemangioma Foundation’s Cowboy Couture Fiddles and Vittles gala on Thursday, September 21, and the Leukemia Cup Regatta party on Saturday, September 23.

Caritas.
Ida

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Changes in atmospheric conditions are often cause for concern this time of year, but it was the welcome winds of change that blew through the Lowcountry on Monday thanks to Trident United Way’s sixth annual Day of Caring community service blitz. The kickoff breakfast, held at Trident Tech’s sparkling new culinary center, was brimming with orange juice and pep-rally energy. Prior to the opening remarks, a touching tribute to the victims of the events that occurred on September 11, 2001, played on 13 projection screens around the room. That year, 700 people participated in 50 projects. This year, 5,000 volunteers swept through 270 community service projects. To date, 18,000 people have contributed 100,000 manpower hours and $4 million in goods and services with Trident United Way’s Day of Caring.

Vanessa Hill, host of the television program Success Before Six, facilitated the morning’s festivities, sharing the stage with Chris Kerrigan (president, Trident United Way), Day of Caring Chairman Lonnie Carter (Santee Cooper), and TUW 2006 Campaign Chair David Dunlap (CEO, Roper St. Francis Healthcare). Toward the end of the program, the goal for the upcoming year of fundraising was announced: $8 million dollars.

I caught up with several teams at various project locations across the peninsula. First stop was St. Andrew’s church on Wentworth Street, where clothing was sorted for Tricounty Family Ministries by representatives from the InterTech Group, including Anita and Jerry Zucker, Jennifer Yaun, Jacquetta Devine, Brice Sweatt, Francine Reed, and Tiffany McCain.

Over at the Ronald McDonald House on Gadsden Street, I met several able-bodied gentlemen from JW Aluminum: Anthony McDaniel, Mike Mizzell, Mark Stickland, Jeff Thompson, John Wilkinson, and Chris Lane. They installed a new fence and finished in time to clown around with the statue of the home’s flame-hair namesake. Inside, a group from the Charleston Passport Center executed a massive letter mailing campaign on behalf of the organization.

On the other side of the Crosstown, several groups lent a hand to the beautification of Mitchell Elementary School. There, I encountered familiar faces and quickly learned that the staff of the Dee Norton Lowcountry Children’s Center had enlisted to help paint the school’s exterior fence. How about that—a nonprofit giving back to the community in more than one way! By the time I arrived, Beverly Hutchison and Kathleen Flynn were scrubbing paint drips from the legs because their team had finished in record time.

To learn more about the agencies and programs sponsored by the Trident United Way, please visit their site: http://www.tuw.org.

Caritas.
Ida

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Welcome to the first installment of Charleston magazine’s Fête Set blog!

When editor-in-chief Darcy Shankland and I initially discussed my charge as society editor, it was the apex of summer and the absolute dregs of the social season. Many had fled to cooler climes, and the social scene had all but come to a grinding halt. Weeks later, when we outlined the slate of fantastic fall events I intend to cover, the challenge became evident: how to cover the three events taking place on any given Thursday?

During the peak party season (September – June), the Lowcountry plays host to an endless string of balls, banquets, festivals, and concerts that raise an immeasurable sum to enhance the beauty and quality of life in this community. The verve with which Charleston— a city with a centuries-old legacy of benevolence and
generosity— hosts benefits and galas is spectacular.

We no longer see private galas akin to the one hosted in 1851 by beau monde doyenne Mrs. Charles Alston, where “18 dozen plates, 14 dozen knives, 28 dozen spoons, 6 dozen champagne glasses, 4 turkeys, 4 hams, 50 partridges, 12 pheasants, 22 ducks, 10 quarts of oysters, 4 pyramids of crystallized fruit and coconut, and immense quantities of bonbons, cakes, creams, and jellies” were used to entertain 200 guests. The white-glove style of society reporting on tea sandwiches and debutantes is fodder for the yellowed clips of yesteryear. Pyrotechnics have replaced pheasants; dazzling décor in lieu of ducks; custom lighting over crystallized fruit dominates today’s party scene. The only constants, it seems, are champagne, oysters, and philanthropy.

I can hardly imagine a better kick-off to this new chapter of Charleston magazine’s coverage of charitable works than Trident United Way’s Day of Caring and its assembly of thousands of people working on service projects across the tri-country area on September 11. This community service blitz, in tandem with TUW’s annual fundraising efforts, improves the lives of countless individuals. For more information, call (843) 566-7185.

Also, the September issue of Charleston magazine, in association with the Coastal Community Foundation, honors two individuals, one business, and one nonprofit organization whose commitments to giving back to the community are especially noteworthy. To meet these philanthropic heroes, pick up a copy today or click here to read the online version.

Bookmark this blog and check back for a full reporting on recent and upcoming charitable events.

Caritas.
Ida

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