“Growing Local SC brings leaders together to create community-based solutions for a resilient food system for South Carolina,” states Project Director Nikki Seibert Kelley. Mrs. Kelley notes, “Local food systems are complex and highly place-based, making it essential for communities to build networks around the people working locally to get food from farms and gardens to the table.” The pandemic highlighted the vulnerability in global supply chains, demonstrating the importance of building regional economies able to withstand disturbances. Growing Local SC brings together agencies, organizations, coalitions, food hubs, and businesses to create a network focused on building systems to equitability, effectively, and economically source, aggregate, and distribute local food to South Carolinians. Growing Local SC is designed to be reflective of the state’s local food system and also includes:
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Food system leaders across the state are encouraged to engage in Growing Local SC by joining the South Carolina Food Policy Council as a member, participating in the annual meetings, and getting engaged through committees, local food councils, and coalitions. Visit www.growinglocalsc.org for more information.
Whether you live in a rural community or the middle of a city, healthy foods can be hard to come by. That’s because South Carolina is filled with food deserts. Grocery stores in neighborhoods and towns close all of the time due to their bottom line — sales and money — and some communities may have never even had a grocery store at all. When people can’t rely on grocery stores for easy access to produce, a food desert is born. Fortunately, teens in the 7th District AME Church are changing the landscape of their food supply.
Through a partnership between Wholespire and the 7th District AME Church, youth involved in the Young Peoples Division (YPD) took advantage of opportunities to give their communities access to healthy foods through The HYPE Project®. After learning about policy, systems, and environmental change and how the food choices a person has affect their health, many youth teams began focusing their community-based projects on community gardens.
“Church gardens seemed to be popular projects, not only for the youth but also for the entire congregation,” said Trimease K. Carter, youth engagement manager at Wholespire. “I think they are popular because youth found out that gardens are a fun, learning experience. Plus, the congregations get excited about helping with the gardens, watching the produce grow, and getting to take some home.”
During the final round of funding for YPD programs in the 7th District AME Church, a few youth teams focused on building new church gardens, while other youth teams, who were previously funded, chose to maintain their gardens based on the success of their initial garden project.
According to Pastor Clearance Mitchell from Singleton AME Church in Georgetown, SC, “Our success was in our garden beds. Although this year we endured interesting weather changes that caused some damage to our garden beds, we were still able to reconstruct and be a blessing. Although our giving numbers were lower than last year, we still were able to give fresh produce to a few senior citizens.”
In Turbeville, SC, the youth team at Oak Grove AME Church was funded all three years. Their first project focused on policy changes, like removing salt shakers from church dining tables. Church leaders approved the policy and left the youth wondering what to do next. So, they focused on educating their congregation on alternatives to salt. To do this, they decided to build an herb garden to use in taste tests and church meals as a way to replace or reduce salt. Their efforts have seemed to pay off.
“Our church is located within the stroke belt of South Carolina. Persons tend to eat an abundance of fried and fatty foods,” said Dr. Ila McFadden, YPD director at Oak Grove AME Church. “Through The HYPE Project®, our youth have helped our congregation think differently, and they have given them the desire to improve their overall health through proper diet, nutrition, and the importance of water as a beverage.”
Just like Wholespire’s mini-grant opportunities, funds awarded to the youth teams were used to purchase supplies and support their initiatives. Youth teams worked on multiple projects at the same time and took on active roles with each project. From brainstorming and setting church policies to planning and implementing healthy eating, active living, and safety projects, the youth of the 7th District AME Church YPD program truly stepped up to the plate. They showed their leadership skills and influenced not only their peers but also adults. They demonstrated what youth engagement can be for community coalitions and other youth groups in South Carolina.
For more information about The HYPE Project®, email Youth Engagement Manager Trimease K. Carter at Trimease@wholespire.org.
Wholespire Kershaw County, formerly Eat Smart Move More Kershaw County, is making a strategic move by teaming up with Livewell Kershaw Coalition, a coalition based on the premise that all people deserve to live well. We’re going to explain their strategy.
Shawn Putnam, the Wholespire Kershaw County chair for the past six years, stated that “throughout the past, we have been successful in having a diverse team,” which keeps diversity, equity, and inclusion top of mind during decision making. The chapter is also very active and has remained so throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting monthly and transitioning to virtual meetings when it became necessary. Teaming up with Livewell Kershaw County to lead their H.E.A.L. Team has made it easier to involve more people working towards accomplishing the same goals since they are not being pulled in different directions.
What exactly is the H.E.A.L. Team?
Livewell Kershaw Coalition recently released a Community Health Improvement Plan that was to be implemented through three committees: 1) Emotional Health Team, 2) H.E.A.L. Team, and 3) Access to Care. Their H.E.A.L. Team shares similar objectives and initiatives with Wholespire Kershaw County. This is where the strategic partnership with Wholespire Kershaw County came from — ensuring all of Kershaw County was focusing on the same initiatives.
Building on a foundation of successes
Before teaming up with LiveWell Kershaw, Wholespire Kershaw County achieved quite a bit of success in increasing access to healthy choices. They put together fitness circuits at local parks, created the road safety program, and supported the mobile nutrition center through the United Way of Kershaw County. The new partnership between Wholespire Kershaw County and Livewell Kershaw Coalition aims to build on this work and do more, including one exciting project, the 5-2-1-0 campaign.
What is the 5-2-1-0 campaign?
The 5-2-1-0 campaign educates kids and their families about the benefits of eating 5 daily servings of fruits and vegetables, limiting their leisure “screen time” to 2 hours a day, getting 1 hour of physical activity daily, and drinking 0 sugar-sweetened beverages. This campaign is taking place in schools throughout Kershaw County. To add some excitement, the campaign is being turned into a competition to encourage more children and their families to participate.
The competition takes place by having children log their results at the end of each day, then tallies are taken each week, and prizes are given to classes with the highest scores. The 5-2-1-0 campaign was launched in February of 2020 but was halted by the pandemic. The hope is for Wholespire Kershaw County and Livewell Kershaw County to reintroduce this campaign to schools in February of 2022.
Collaborating for a stronger future
Wholespire Kershaw County is a shining example of what can be accomplished when partnering with another organization like Livewell Kershaw County. The projects being conducted now, and those taking place in the future, closely align with the Wholespire mission to “provide communities with proven and sustainable approaches that lead to increased access to healthy choices for ALL people.”
Upcoming projects for the partners include providing advocacy training for their coalition to better prepare them to make policy, system, and environmental change, as well as teaching the coalition how to be involved in project review processes. They’re also planning an expansion of the road safety program that focuses on advocacy for the awareness of cyclists by car drivers and to create safer roads. More projects will be unveiled soon.
If you are interested in getting involved with the initiatives of the Wholespire Kershaw County and LiveWell Kershaw, help is always needed. Active recruitment for the coalition is taking place now for those interested in the mission. There are no dues, just be passionate. To learn more or join the coalition, contact Shawn Putnam at putnam@camdensc.org or find Livewell Kershaw on Facebook.
Leading into the end-of-year giving season, the team at Wholespire has been gearing up for GivingTuesday, the global day of generosity that takes place on November 30, 2021!
GivingTuesday was created with one goal in mind: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past nine years, this idea has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.
This year, we are looking to those within our community to help us guide the next generation of changemakers. Through The Healthy Young People Empowerment (HYPE) Project®, Wholespire teaches today’s youth how to become voices of action and advocates for change to create long-lasting
improvements in their communities.
We’ve got a big year ahead of us and, when powered by the generosity of those in our friends and neighbors, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish! When you give to Wholespire’s The HYPE Project®, you are helping to fund the thinkers of the future. Donations to this program help sustain initiatives promoting healthier tomorrows through access to better eating, active living, and health equity.
Like the original purpose of GivingTuesday, this is your opportunity to come together to give, show kindness, and share what you have. And we need your help!
Follow our movements on Instagram and keep up with us as we lead into this year’s GivingTuesday celebration. Will you join us in our mission as we move into 2022? Donate today!
Every county has a parks and recreation department that’s responsible for community activity programs and maintaining and ensuring the safety of its parks. But, sometimes, the playground equipment in parks unintentionally gets overlooked and becomes unsafe for children and families.
Hampton County has only one park under its name, and it’s located next door to the parks and recreation gymnasium and offices in the small town of Varnville. Recreation Park has been there for decades and it probably once hosted tons of kids and families over the years. As kids’ play choices changed, so has the foot traffic at Recreation Park. In addition, the decline in local economies has made parks and playgrounds less of a priority for rural areas of the state like Hampton County.
“Some of the equipment is probably more than 30 years old,” said Tania Peeples, Hampton County Parks and Recreation director. “The teeter-totter is wood, so it’s old. The bouncers and merry-go-round, I played on those as a child. The swing set has chains, but no seats.”
New bouncers were installed with the help of the Let’sGo! 3.0 mini-grant.
The department has changed leadership a few times, but each person had visions of bringing the park back to life and making their community healthier. They applied for a Let’sGo! 3.0 mini-grant to bring in some new playground equipment, and Wholespire was happy to give them a boost.
“Our small towns are treasures and truly deserve some help, especially those located in the I-95 corridor,” said Meg Stanley, Wholespire executive director. “Providing children and families a safe place to play is a basic community amenity that helps everyone grow healthy.”
Mini-grant funding was used to:
Replace the tire swing.
Replace missing seats and broken chains on the swing set.
Add new equipment like a double seat bouncer, truck bouncer, pearl twirl, and teeter-totter bouncer.
Peeples said, “The community loves it. The kids love it. We do have quite
A new teeter-totter in Recreation Park
a few people who come out and play. We still have a lot of work to do out there but the new playground equipment really brightened it up.”
The new playground equipment has spurred excitement for Peeples. “I would like to remove the plastic ring around the swing set, clean it out, and plant sod. I would love to add some picnic shelters with tables in an empty area. Of course, I’d like to see a paved walking trail around the park, replace some benches, and add an accessible swing.”
Did we mention Recreation Park has a nature trail? Under Peeples’ leadership, a nature trail, which had become overgrown with bamboo and weeds, was discovered. Completely inaccessible to the community and mostly forgotten about, Peeples and other parks and recreation leaders set out to uncover the lost gem. Located behind Recreation Park, the nature trail winds through woods and wetlands — complete with a wooden bridge. Restoring the trail will add even more value to the only county park and the lives of its residents and visitors.
“I’m a lover of the outdoors, so hearing that they rediscovered a nature trail is exciting and hopeful for Hampton County,” said Stanley. “I hope this small bit of funding from us will inspire them to reach for the stars and apply for other funding opportunities to help complete their vision.”
Download the Benefits of Becoming a Wholespire Chapter
It’s no surprise that we changed our name and branding to Wholespire, but we’re tying up some loose ends. By December 31, we will have completely ended all uses of the name Eat Smart Move More South Carolina (ESMMSC). What does this mean for our chapters? It means an opportunity to use our new brand and take advantage of the new benefits of being a chapter.
This year has been full of changes for Wholespire. We’ve adopted a new strategic plan with an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. New policies and procedures are in place. Staff intentionally revised the benefits of being a chapter and placed priority on chapter support.
“The purpose of becoming a chapter is to promote and advance the Wholespire mission and vision within the chapter’s community. This can be a huge effort because chapter members volunteer their time while juggling their full-time employment responsibilities,” said Meg Stanley, Wholespire executive director. “That’s why we want to provide more support and services to our chapters and make marketing and communications more manageable.”
When our ESMMSC chapters choose to become a Wholespire chapter and when we gain new chapters, most of the benefits of being a chapter are free.
Marketing and Communications
Chapters receive a professional digital file of the Wholespire logo that includes the chapter name, as well as social media profile graphics and a brand identity guide with tips on how to use the logo and social media. Chapters can choose to use a free website if they have a chapter member who is able to keep it updated. An email address @wholespire.org is available to chapters, as well as social media guidance and chapter management templates. In addition, when a chapter hosts or co-hosts events, Wholespire will promote the events on its social media channels.
PSE Change Implementation Guidance
One of the perks that have always been available to chapters is free guidance, or technical assistance, around chapter growth and initiatives. At Wholespire, we want to give our chapters the best possible chance to become the “go-to” community coalition authority on healthy eating, active living, chronic disease, and other health issues that can be prevented or managed by increasing access to healthy choices. We offer guidance on capacity building, partnership development, advocacy, youth engagement, and evaluation.
Funding Opportunities
Every organization needs funding to sustain its work, and that’s no different for Wholespire chapters. The benefits of being a chapter include gaining firsthand knowledge about funding opportunities from Wholespire and its partners. Also, when you apply for an external grant, you can choose to identify Wholespire as your fiscal agent at a reduced cost than non-chapters.
Training, Education, and Networking
Professional development and keeping chapters in the know are important benefits of being a chapter. We’re stepping up our communication and professional development offerings to give our chapters the advantage. As a Wholespire chapter, you receive the Whole Community newsletter to stay updated on what’s happening at Wholespire and around the state and nation. You get access to the annual Leadership Summit for Healthy Communities, regional trainings, leadership trainings, and webinars. In addition, you get to participate on periodic chapter leader calls to discuss key strategies, issues, and opportunities for chapters.
By becoming a Wholespire chapter, not only do you get the benefits of being a chapter, but you also get to take advantage of Wholespire’s increased marketing around its new brand. Studies show that when a person sees consistent messaging and images, they are more likely to remember it and take action, whether it be joining a chapter, becoming an advocate, contacting the chapter, or any other call to action. With our new website and stronger search engine optimization strategies, your chapter will show up higher in search results. On our website, we’ve placed emphasis on our chapters and made them easier to find. Also, we have big plans in store for promoting our chapters, their work, and their volunteers.
Now is the time to make that change to a Wholespire chapter! If you want to become a Wholespire chapter, you need to make that change before December 31 because ESMM will no longer be recognized. To make the change, email Kelsey Allen at kelsey@wholespire.org.
According to Pastor Clearance Mitchell from Singleton AME Church in Georgetown, SC, “Our success was in our garden beds. Although this year we endured interesting weather changes that caused some damage to our garden beds, we were still able to reconstruct and be a blessing. Although our giving numbers were lower than last year, we still were able to give fresh produce to a few senior citizens.”
