Crisis Ministries, Center for Women, and Race Week!
A few weeks ago, I helped serve breakfast at Crisis Ministries’ family shelter. Afterward, as my car warmed and I prepared to head home, I watched residents of the shelter spill out onto the street and into the early morning cold. In that moment, my sense of contribution and caring wavered toward a feeling of hopelessness, as I contemplated just how many people need assistance… and warm clothing.
The recent rollercoaster weather extremes were at the forefront of my mind when I attended Crisis Ministries’ Food. Shelter. Hope. benefit at the Rice Mill on Thursday night. There, I encountered many wonderfully warm-hearted people who are intent on helping support the thriving soup kitchen, the healthcare program, and the state’s only shelter that offers separate housing for families.
Four outstanding caterers– Carolina Catering, Good Food Catering, JBC, and Iverson Catering— served a delectable array of hors d’oeuvres, while guests bid on silent and live auction lots. More than $60,000 was raised at the event, and executive director Stacey Deneaux says that money is still be accepted in the name of the event.
Check out their website to learn more about how they are breaking the cycle of poverty:www.charlestonhomeless.org.
Earlier on Thursday, I joined Jennet Alterman and her staff at the Family Circle Cup tennis tournament to celebrate Center for Women Day. A few dozen supporters of the center cheered on the center court action (mostly for Venus the powerhouse!), noshed on a salad lunch courtesy of Charleston Place, and enjoyed professional shoulder massages in the shade of the sky box. The Center for Women was selected at the tournament’s charity of choice, which allowed the center’s staff and volunteers to share information regarding its mission and outreach with attendees throughout the week.
Charleston Race Week blew into town over the weekend, along with some fierce winds that eventually halted the sailing action completely. Hosted by the S.C. Maritime Foundation in association with the Charleston Ocean Racing Association, the regatta raised money for the Spirit of South Carolina, the locally built tall ship that will serve as a floating classroom starting in 2008. The event lured local and visiting sailors alike for what turned out to be a memorable weekend of racing and parties that were flush with a slew of stellar sponsors like Gosling’s Rum and SLAM gear. With gusts up to 70 miles per hour, the final races were called early Sunday, and what would have been another day on the water quickly turned into an all-out celebration, akin to a hurricane party, at the Charleston Harbor Hilton.
Caritas.
Ida
