COLUMBIA — The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina has awarded 20 Caritas grants totaling $58,113 to nonprofit and faith-based organizations across the state.
Caritas grants are for organizations providing outreach services to the poor, according to a press release from the foundation. The one-year grants do not exceed $3,000 and are designed for organizations with annual budgets of less than $250,000.
To meet the needs of nonprofit organizations in the state during this economic downturn, the foundation increased Caritas grants in 2009 from once a year to three times. The foundation also accepted, for the first time, applications to meet organizations’ basic operating expenses.
Grants of $3,000 each were given to the following:
- Anderson Sunshine House, which offers transitional housing for the homeless in Anderson County;
- Bluffton Self Help, which provides emergency assistance for the poor in Beaufort County;
- Chapin We Care Center, which gives emergency utility assistance for the poor in Lexington and Newberry counties;
- Christ Central/Hanna House of Columbia, which provides transitional housing for women and children in Richland and Lexington counties;
- Food Bank of Greenwood County to purchase a walk-in cooler/freezer for the emergency food pantry serving Greenwood and Abbeville counties;
- Free Medical Clinic of Newberry County for diabetic supplies for the uninsured in Newberry County;
- Good Samaritan Clinic, which offers medical, dental and pharmaceutical care for the uninsured in Lexington County;
- Great Falls Referral Assistance Service Project, which provides emergency assistance for the poor in Chester County;
- Helping Hands of Georgetown gives emergency utility assistance for the poor in Georgetown County;
- Interfaith Hospitality Network of York County, which offers emergency assistance for the homeless in York County;
- Midlands Holy Family Fund to provide emergency assistance for the poor in Richland and Barnwell counties;
- MK Inc. for food and preparation for a food bank and Kid’s Cafe in Georgetown and Williamsburg counties;
- Nazareth Apostolic Church In Jesus Christ, to provide food for the underserved in Darlington County;
- Restoration Outreach and Community Development Corporation offers meals for low-income senior citizens in Newberry and Union counties;
- St. Christopher’s Children, which helps meet personal needs of children in crisis in Georgetown County;
- St. Theresa’s Conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which provides food for the poor in Dorchester and Berkeley counties;
- Touching Heaven Changing Earth Outreach, which gives food to the poor in Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Florence and Williamsburg counties;
- The Samaritan House of Orangeburg County, which offers transitional housing for the homeless in Calhoun, Orangeburg and Bamberg counties;
- Our Daily Bread, serving Oconee, Anderson and Pickens counties, received $2,113 for a cooling unit for the food storage area;
- Women’s Ministries Women of Power International received $2,000 to help provide emergency assistance for low-income widows in South Carolina.
The application deadline to apply for a Caritas grant is Nov. 3. Nonprofit organizations should visit the foundation’s Web site at www.sistersofcharitysc.com.