The Kiawah Women’s Foundation’s (KWF) annual fundraiser started February 1 and continues through March 1. KWF reaches out to the community for financial support just once a year with the KWF’s Backpack Buddies Challenge.
Working in partnership with Angel Oak Elementary and Haut Gap Middle Schools on Johns Island as well as Frierson Elementary on Wadmalaw Island, KWF has served local children and their families in the Lowcountry since 2013. We recently expanded our mission to include Minnie Hughes Elementary School on Yonges Island. With 94% of its pupils designated as living in poverty, our services are a welcome new resource for this underserved Lowcountry community.
Children from families with incomes below the poverty level receive weekday breakfasts and lunches from our partner schools. Our flagship Backpack Buddies program extends that support when the school day ends. Each week during the school year, KWF volunteers pack and deliver up to 350 bags, each containing 12 shelf-stable food items that children can prepare for themselves, whether after school or over the weekend.
KWF just finished packing 120 holiday gift bags for local teens who have aged out of other holiday gift programs. We continue to support student hygiene needs by stocking a hygiene closet with personal necessities at the high school and middle school, as well as sending home dental kits to the elementary and middle school students who receive our weekly food bags.
Based on feedback from school staff, we’re supporting new initiatives: a uniform project, providing school uniforms and clothing for students whose families struggle to afford required clothing; clothing closets for children who might need a change of clothing throughout the day; and a summer journal project to support elementary and middle school students in case-managed programs.
Overall inflation and skyrocketing food costs are some of the many strains on the struggling families we serve. Sponsoring a child for the school year costs $250. Please consider making a donation; any amount helps support our programs. Donations can be made on the KWF website at Kiawahwomensfoundation.org or by check payable to Kiawah Women’s Foundation, 130 Gardeners Circle, PMB I, Johns Island, SC 29455. All donations are tax deductible.