Horry County woman helps kids in need

For several hours each day, nearly every day for two decades, Barb Mains has worked to make sure Horry County kids in need have what they need.

She started Help 4 Kids back in 1989 while volunteering for another cause.

“We went out after Hurricane Hugo to do volunteer work,” she said, “and the farther out we got into the county… we found children living in deplorable conditions.”

After that experience, Mains, with the help of other volunteers, collected food, clothing, school supplies and other items to distribute to children in need.

This year, they are assisting close to 600 children and their families.

Pat Rowland is a retired teacher who recently started working with Mains.

“Everything she does is just amazing to me,” Rowland said.

The volunteers at Help 4 Kids do all they can to help the children in their program, but the state of the economy has slowed donations at the time when they need them the most.

“I wish everybody would remember the children when they’re shopping for their own children for Christmas – and their grandchildren – when they’re shopping for their holiday meal,” Mains said. “How much it would mean to these kids to have a turkey and all the fixins. To sit down and have a meal like other families they see.”

Mains said she loves helping the kids and their families, and to the children she helps, she is part of their family.

“A lot of them call me grandma.”