GOOD NEWS: New Hurd Foundation to have month-long children’s’ book drive

Contributing photographer Michael Kaynard is offering 11-inch by 14-inch limited edition prints of the above photographic collage as a way to honor the life of librarian Cynthia Graham Hurd. All of the proceeds will go to a memorial fund. More information is outlined below.

Staff reports  |  A new foundation is honoring the life of a much-loved librarian who was one of the nine people murdered last year by a gunman at Emanuel AME Church.

The Cynthia Graham Hurd Foundation for Reading & Civic Engagement has been set up by her family to increase literacy and spread a passion for reading throughout Charleston, where Hurd worked for 31 years for the Charleston County Public Library.

“Cynthia loved reading and sharing literature with people of all ages,” said her brother Malcolm, a former North Carolina state senator who is president and CEO of the new foundation.  “Helping children become lifelong readers and adults to discover or rediscover the joy of books is exactly how my sister would want us all to honor her.  This is about celebrating who Cynthia was in life. This is how we turn our grief into action that benefits the community.”

During a May 12 press conference, the foundation also announced its first initiative — month-long book drives in Charleston and Charlotte in June, Hurd’s birth month, to get more books into under-resourced elementary schools in pre-schools in both communities.  According to a press release, eight out of 10 fourth graders from low-income families in South Carolina cannot read at grade level.  Partners in the project include the national group Reading Partners, the local library system, WCSC TV in Charleston and WBTV in Charlotte.

Throughout June, all branches of the Charleston County Public Library will serve as drop-off locations for new and gently-used children’s brooks for distribution through the Reading Partners’ network of tutors who work in local schools with students who need to improve literacy and reading levels.

In related news, Charleston Currents contributing photographer Michael Kaynard is offering a photographic print for sale to raise money for the Hurd Fund, which was established last year by the family to promote educational programming at the John L. Dart Branch Library and the St. Andrews Regional Library, both of which she managed during her career.

“Having deep ties to the library and as an artist and 43-year resident of Charleston, I wanted to do something special in her honor,” Kaynard said.  “I have put together a collage that honors the memory of our fallen nine.  Join me in honoring Cynthia by participating in this project to help further her important work.”

All of the proceeds from the collage will go to the fund.  Matted prints with a finished size of 11 inches by 14 inches are available for $25.00.  Shipping is available.  More:  Contact Michael Kaynard at michael@kaynardphotography.com.

In other Good News:

Whack

Whack to keynote Burke reunion.  Harold Whack, vice president of marketing and development for RCW Media Production, Inc., of Chicago, will be keynote speaker at the Burke High School Class of 1966 reunion banquet, which is set for 6 p.m. June 3 at the Embassy Suites and Convention Center in North Charleston.  As a top-performing sales executive at the Chicago-based NCC Media, Whack billed more than $100 million in cable advertising deals. A Charleston native, Whack attended Burke from 1962 to 1964, and later graduated Harvard College with honors in 1970.

Fund makes big grants.  The Daniel Island Community Fund, a private 501(c) 4 organization that is funded by a transfer fee on all resale transactions within the master planned community of Daniel Island, has announced grants totaling $161,845 for the first quarter of the year.  They will help programs administered by 11 different Charleston area not-for-profit organizations that address education, healthcare, housing, hunger and poverty.  Groups receiving money were:

• World Class Scholars/Palmetto Project: $12,500, which is matched by Nucor Steel SC, to establish the online technology program in Berkeley County

• East Cooper Community Outreach: $12,000 for health programming and services for low-income residents in the East Cooper and Cainhoy areas.

• East Cooper Community Outreach: $10,000 for helping people reduce poverty through financial stability offered through the Individual Development Account program

• Humanities Foundation: $6,100 for a two-week camp for 25 children.

• Daniel Island School: $24,864 for purchase of laptops, and other technology.

• Mission Collective: $10,000 for a startup that seeks to provide office and meeting space for businesses, nonprofits and religious organizations near Clements Ferry Road.

• Lowcountry Food Bank: $5,000 for produce and other food for 450 families on the Cainhoy peninsula.

• Operation Home: $30,000 for critical housing needs in Huger and Cainhoy.

• St. Vincent DePaul Society: $7,500 to repair homes in the Huger area hurt by last year’s flooding.

• Charleston Promise Neighborhood: $4,981 for part of the costs to send 20 underprivileged children to Camp Blackbaud.

• Lucy Boyle Memorial Fund/Berkeley County Library: $10,000 for STEM resources for elementary and middle school students.

• Cainhoy School: $28,900, for summer enrichment programs.

Tournament raises $172,000.  Barrier Islands Free Medical Clinic held its annual Celebrity Golf Invitational on April 25 and raised $172,000, which will support more than 2,800 patient care visits, according to a press release.  “We cannot express our appreciation and thanks enough for the numerous sponsors, donors and golfers who participated in the Barrier Islands Free Medical Clinic’s golf invitational,” said Dr. Jim Hayes, board chair and a volunteer doctor.  “These past eight years have seen remarkable growth for the clinic, all centered around serving our community’s needs.”

Since opening its doors in 2008, BIFMC has provided more than 31,000 free medical office visits to the deserving residents in the community who may not have otherwise been able to see a doctor. Now, eight years later the clinic’s grown rather significantly – BIFMC has 35 volunteer doctors, 26 volunteer nurses and more than 45 administrative volunteers.  The organization provides healthcare options to the estimated 22 percent of residents on Johns, Wadmalaw and James Islands who live 200 percent below the federal poverty level and cannot pay for health insurance.