South Carolina Business Review

Upstate homeless participate in new research project

By Mike Switzer

Published May 15, 2026 at 6:30 AM EDT

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Lizzie Bebber, president of United Ministries in Greenville, SC

Homelessness continues to be a problem across the nation and our state. But our next guest’s organization, which runs a homeless shelter in the Upstate, recently partnered with Furman University on a project which hopes to bring a deeper awareness to this issue and to the people whose lives it affects. Mike Switzer interviews Lizzie Bebber, president of United Ministries in Greenville, SC. Resource: In Plain Sight

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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