OPFOB‘s Mission is to help save lives of our local veterans. Sadly, we lose 22 veterans every day to suicide. We have lost 4X the number of post 9/11 veterans to suicide (30,000) than on the battlefields (7,000). We have lost between 50,000-100,000 Vietnam veterans to suicide. OPFOB is the only facility in The Lowcountry offering recreational therapy for veterans and their families to deal with PTSD, the scars of battle, nightmares, etc.. Within a 90 minute drive of our 268 acre facility, there are 114,000 veterans. We are all volunteers; zero payroll; our facilities and services are totally free of charge to our veterans and their families. Since our inception in July 2020, thankfully we have not had one of our veterans who has been to OPFOB commit suicide.
The Men and Women Who Care conducted our summer meeting to decide which local charity we should support. We discussed three groups which are performing the heavy lifting for services in our community. With 130+ active members participating from 5 different states, we raised over $23,000 for these groups.
We kicked off our meeting with cocktails overlooking the marsh and a guest speaker updating us on the upcoming events with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra. We announced that the group has raised over $220,000 in 13 previous meetings for local needs involving people just trying to go through life. Since our start, the group has made major donations to one local charity each quarter as well as contributions to several other charities represented in our meetings.
For the summer meeting, we selected three charities to learn how we could give back to the community. Three members made brief presentations for the following groups.
– Lowcountry Legal Volunteers
– Pregnancy Center and Clinic
– Hilton Head Hospital Auxiliary
In addition to the collective donation, the Heritage Classic Foundation provided matching funds of $2,600 providing a total distribution of $23,000 this meeting. The members awarded The Pregnancy Center and Clinic with the majority of the funds raised as well as additional donations were made for each of the organizations represented. The Pregnancy Center will return to our next meeting to share how we helped with their goal for our community.
As a result of our spring award to Meals on Wheels, Lili Coleman attended to share the organization’s appreciation. Everyone attending were interested in the community needs, surprised at the accomplishments and impressed with the help needed in our area.
Now is the time to identify which of the hundreds of nonprofits in our area we should support next. Just reply with the name of the organization that you would like to represent. Also, you can find the other nominations listed on the menu as “Charities under Consideration”.
Our next meeting is planned for October 25th at the Sea Pines Country Club. We are glad to include guest and if you have someone that you would like to add to the mailing list just let me know. If you are not a member, sign up.
Our mission is to provide pregnancy related healthcare to women in a welcoming, safe and confidential setting.
Medical care provided by advanced practice registered nurse/midwife; nursing staff, professional counselor, interpreters. Services provided include pregnancy/STI testing, ultrasound, vitamins, 16 weeks of prenatal care, and counseling. EIN#57-0923523
As the island’s golf event pushed our meeting a bit more toward summer, sixty members and guest met to hear how we helped Memory Matters start off the year and listen to members share the needs for three charities.
We learned how The Children’s Center, The Boys and Girls Club, and Meals on Wheels are helping the different age groups in our community.
The group raised over $28,000 with a few more pledges scheduled to be received. The majority of the funds will be awarded to Meals on Wheels and we will be looking forward to hearing during our next meeting how we helped MOW accomplish their mission.
Delivery of meals to homebound clients in Hilton Head and Bluffton who lack capacity to prepare nutritious meals without regard to their ability to pay. Warm meals are delivered five days a week. We not only deliver meals, but we also make sure our clients are doing well as part of daily engagement with them.
Often, to create access to something, you must clear a path and remove obstacles. At Lowcountry Legal Volunteers, that is the mindset we have when making sure everyone has access to quality legal representation. We are here to help our clients remove the obstacles in their paths and achieve the best possible outcomes. EIN#56-2202319
The Men and Women Who Care of Hilton Head had our quarterly social and one-hour meeting to decide which local charity we should support. We discussed three groups which are performing the heavy lifting for services in our community. With 130 active members participating from 5 different states, we raised over $17,000 for groups discussed as well as learned how the Heritage Classic Foundation will match funds.
We kicked off our meeting with cocktails overlooking the marsh and announced that the group has raised over $160,000 in 12 previous meetings for local needs involving people just trying to go through life. Since our start, the group has made major donations to one local charity each quarter as well as contributions to several other charities represented in our meetings. Additionally, members brought food items for the Food Pantry.
For our winter meeting, we selected three charities to learn how we could give back to the community. Three members made brief presentations for the following groups.
– Memory Matters
– LowCountry Alliance for Healthy Youth
– Sandalwood Food Pantry
All are well deserved opportunities and we should thank each presenter for their interest, passion and willingness to share with the group.
The votes are in and the members have selected Memory Matters. We will work with Memory Matters to schedule a day for a photo which anyone can attend. They will return to our next meeting in April to share how we helped accomplish their vision for our community.
The LCAHY brings together representatives from the community sectors (see Community Board) to develop a comprehensive solution to preventing and reducing youth substance use and abuse and related risk behaviors by 1) identifying the causes/conditions that put our youth at risk and 2) identifying protective factors/strategies that will prevent our youth from engaging in substance use/abuse and related risk behaviors
Since 1997, Memory Matters’ staff have provided memory care to Lowcountry families with compassion and understanding. Today, Memory Matters continues that care but has enhanced its service to educate the community, of all ages, on what can be done to keep the brain healthy, and what can be done to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. It’s a balance of brain health education and memory care services. We are unique in the Lowcountry, and our expertise is unsurpassed. Memory Matters serves individuals living with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia, caregivers, family and friends, and health professionals.
HHIAux was nominated by Bob Elliott as a local opportunity to be selected in one of our next meetings. The Hilton Head Hospital Auxiliary provides communication and support for our nearly 200 volunteers and through our fundraising efforts, we assist people and families in our communities who are most in need.
Auxiliary programs have had a significant impact on thousands of people over the years. Most importantly, our Nursing Scholarship Program is helping to address the nursing shortage which currently exists in the U.S, state of South Carolina, and Beaufort County.
