Hemingway charity pinched by holiday demand

With economic hardships abound, those that give the most are often those that get the least around the holiday season.

Hemingway’s Caring and Sharing is no different this year, as they have noticed donations steadily decrease. While individual donations have dropped, the charity’s food bank suppliers have also lessened their normal contributions which have drastically affected the number of families the charity can service.

Kay Harmon, the wife of the charities found, Carl Harmon, said that although there have been attempts to bolster the charity’s food servicing ability, there are still shortfalls.

“Food is real low and we haven’t gotten the donations that we normally get at this time of the year,” Harmon said. “Several schools are having a food drive for us which will help a great deal here around Christmas time."

Although the schools provide a great deal of support locally for the charity, their donations are only a small dent in an ever growing deficit Caring and Sharing is coming face to face with.

Normally, Low Country Food Bank and Food Lion grocery stores are some of the biggest supporters of the charity, but due to these entities receiving fewer donations this year, so goes Caring and Sharing.

“The food banks aren’t getting the food donated, so therefore, they can’t furnish us with the food if they don’t get it,” Harmon said.

Circumstances have led the charity being forced to dip into its operating costs to buy the groceries themselves – a method that has no long-term viability.

With the circumstances they are facing, Caring and Sharing has turned to an unlikely source for support this holiday season – hunters.

Although meat has become a premium item for the charity, hunters and processing plants in the Hemingway and Johnsonville areas have donated the meat of deer, while requiring Caring and Sharing to play for the processing of the meat.

While Harmon said the charity would rather receive the meat donated, she is thankful for the support the area hunters and processing plants have provided.

“The deer has come in and I can’t tell you how many deer we’ve had, because every week we’re getting a deer or two or three from one of the processing plants around here,” she said.

Caring and Sharing was recognized by South Carolina in 2005 for being one of the top charity programs in the state. The fact that 92.1 percent of the funds that it takes in go back to the citizens that it serves singled the charity out from other in the state.

The charity gets most of its food from Low County Food Bank and Food Lion and is closely associated with local businesses such as Firestone, Tupperware and Winyah Cruisers who have helped with fundraisers for the organization.

To donate to Caring and Sharing, contact Carl Harmon at (843) 558-7966 or stop by their facility in Hemingway at 200 North Railroad Avenue in Hemingway.