Charity

Lowcountry Nonprofit Distributing Basic Needs to Community Members in Need

Published

4 years ago

September 23, 2020

Press Release

Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach, in sponsorship with South State Bank, will hold a free food and dental kit distribution on Saturday, October 17th, between 9 am to 12 pm at their Johns Island location at 1684 Brownswood Rd. Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach has been able to stay open despite the pandemic, providing hope to those needing emergency financial, employment and food services during these challenging times.

The Saturday distribution will be a contact-less, drive-thru model to keep staff and patrons safe. A Saturday was chosen to fill the gap of those community members who need assistance, but can’t receive it during business hours. While Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach’s free dental clinic works toward a safe reopening, dental kits will also be provided during the food distribution to ensure access to basic dental supplies so more dental emergencies can be avoided down the road.

Food boxes will be provided to families on a first-come, first-served basis.

Since the beginning of COVID-19 in March, Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach has:

Packed and distributed over 35,000lbs of food at both locations for families in need
handed out almost 8,000 bag lunches at the Neighborhood House Soup Kitchen location
given over to $22,000 in financial assistance

The community can help make the food and dental distribution a success by:

Donating shelf-stable food and dental supplies to help families prepare for longer term impact. Donations can be brought to the Johns Island location at 1684 Brownswood Rd. between 9am and 11am Monday through Friday.

Purchasing items from Amazon by visiting our Amazon Wishlist here.

“Families and individuals are still struggling to cope with lost wages, eviction notices, utility disconnects and now navigating the virtual school environment. This Saturday Distribution is a small way we can expand our efforts to help. We will continue to come up with innovative ways to lend a helping hand. We know the road to recovery from COVID-19 will be long for many,” says Ericka Plater, executive director of Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach.

To learn more about the organization, go to www.olmoutreach.org.