As the end of the 2016-17 school year approaches, South Carolina Public Radio's Laura Hunsberger visited Harmony School in Forest Acres to find out how they are doing, now more than a year and a half after damage from the historic floods closed their preschool building. Tut Underwood previously covered how Harmony School had to move their preschool and kindergarten students from the flooded building into two portable units that were previously used as office space. The move was supposed to be temporary, but school administrators say it may no longer be possible to rehabilitate the old preschool building. Laura Hunsberger has more.
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Harmony School is one of many non-profit organizations participating in this year's Midlands Gives! Hosted by Central Carolina Community Foundation, Midlands Gives is a 24-hour online giving event that raises support for local 501(c)(3) nonprofits in 11 Midlands counties: Calhoun, Clarendon, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lee, Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda, and Sumter. The 2017 will take place online on Tuesday, May 2 from 12:00 am to 11:59:59pm, Eastern Time.
In 2016, Midlands Gives raised $1.6 million via 12,536 individual gifts, toward 382 charities. The event is one of almost 100 giving days that take place in cities across America throughout the year. In 2015, Midlands Gives ranked 7th in the nation in number of individual gifts, with $1,543,032.65 raised via 11,372 individual gifts, toward 251 charities. In addition, the local business community supports the event through additional gifts.
Among nonprofits with a connection to flood recovery, this year's charities include the Gills Creek Watershed Association, Homeworks of America, PASOs, and United Way of the Midlands, to name only a few.