Sumter Fireside Fund helps grandmother with no family to stay warm
Grandma, Gigi, Maw-Maw, Nanny, Grammie, MiMi, Gram, Grandy, Mi-Maw No matter what you call her, most everyone would say just the thought of their grandmother brings warm thoughts and wonderful memories to mind.
I called mine Nanny. She went home to be with the Lord almost 28 years ago now, but I still remember how she smelled - like clean linens and rosewater - and hugging her was like being wrapped in the softest, warmest blanket. She also made the best rice pudding in the Northeast, hands down! (Anyone who's had some would agree!)
Some of us are lucky enough to still have their grandmothers in their lives, and some are not. And I would bet that every one of us would jump to help them if they needed anything. Anything at all. But what if they had no one who could help? No husband. No brothers or sisters. No children. No grandchildren or great-grandchildren. What then?
We had one such client come in to Sumter United Ministries this week for assistance with her propane heating bill. We'll call her Mrs. G. - a sweet, widowed lady of almost 88 years. She lives off a modest, fixed Social Security income. She gives her 10% to God every month. She has no loans, charge accounts or unpaid bills just floating around out there. The only "fluff" in her budget is a reasonably priced internet/phone/cable bundle - her entertainment. Mrs. G's Social Security income is usually enough to cover her modest budget but not always. Not in the winter months, when she relies on propane as her sole source of heat.
I think we can all agree that prices have gone up on everything, and all heating costs have soared. Propane is no exception. So, prices have gone up, then you throw in the extraordinarily low temperatures we've had here lately, and elderly people like Mrs. G, who always feel cold but are on a fixed income (with no way of increasing it), are struggling to keep warm and to make ends meet.
Mrs. G's January heating bill was very high, and she was in danger of having her propane heat turned off, the account locked and no further propane deliveries scheduled if the past-due amount was not paid. Thanks to the generous donations to the Fireside Fund by many people in Sumter, we were able to pay a substantial portion of her past-due amount, helping to ensure she will continue getting propane deliveries. She'll be warm when the next cold spell hits. This is what the wonderful people in Sumter do - they help their neighbors. This is one of the reasons I, my coworkers and our volunteers at SUM are so very proud of the Sumter community - it is a community that cares.
We are grateful to The Item and the Fireside Fund and to the churches, schools, businesses, clubs, families and individuals who donate to it and to Sumter United Ministries. We are especially grateful to God, who gives us opportunities and resources to serve and love our neighbors as ourselves.
Diane Garrick is the assistant director of the Crisis Relief Ministry at Sumter United Ministries.
New donations as of Jan. 30: Roger I Williams, Lt. Col/Ret USAF, $220; Laureate PI, $25; Readers Club, $50; Honey Truesdale, in memory of Harold Truesdale, $100; Wedgefield Presbyterian Church, $500; Valerie H. Johnson, $50; Dorothy Cheagle, $200.
ABOUT THE FIRESIDE FUND
Each winter since 1969, The Sumter Item has run a fundraiser to collect money from its readers to be donated entirely to Sumter United Ministries.
The faith-based nonprofit provides emergency and life-rebuilding services ranging from food, shelter and clothing to final notice bill pay, access to educational opportunities and a medical clinic. The Sumter Item recognizes and appreciates every ministry their staff and volunteers run, but the Fireside Fund was created to focus on one area that becomes critical for the next few months: heat.
Every penny donated will directly help people who live in Sumter by preventing heating services from being turned off, allowing access to propane or other heating sources and, when enough funding is available and the need is there, funding long-term housing fixes to make homes more efficient.
IN HONOR OF
Each year, The Item's leadership team picks a person who has recently passed away to which the year's campaign will be dedicated. The person honored is someone who made a positive impact in the community, whether through service or philanthropy, business or community leadership.
If you think about the impact the Rev. William Samuel Randolph imparted in terms of civic service, entrepreneurialism, faith leadership and human rights, he checked all the boxes.
The now-late uncle of current Sumter City Councilman James B. Blassingame moved to Sumter to attend Morris College. His legacy is as a pastor of First Baptist Missionary Church for 47 years, owner and operator of Randolph General Construction Co. and city councilman from 1987 to 2008, including mayor pro tempore for 19 of those years. His civil rights legacy is the 1961 S.C. Supreme Court case that, while he was arrested 11 times in the fight for racial equality, was pivotal in charges being dropped for several civil rights activists.
Randolph died Sept. 17 at the age of 88.