Planting a legacy: Susan Wild and Sumter Green celebrate 30 years of beautifying Sumter
Susan Wild remembers when Sumter Green was little more than an idea. It was a small beautification committee with a simple goal of making Sumter a more welcoming place.
Three decades later, she doesn't have to look very far to see what became of that idea.
That's because it's in the flowers that sway along the roads she drives every day, the trees planted along Prisma Health Shot Pouch Greenway and the green spaces that invite natives and newcomers to bask in the beauty of it all.
"As one of the original members of the committee that started 30 years ago, I have a personal excitement and pride for how far we have come from the beginning," she expressed.
Wild moved to Sumter in 1986. Even though she considers Sumter home, she said being a newcomer gives her a slightly different perspective. After traveling to different communities, she returned to Sumter and realized how much the city had to offer. Sumter Green's evolution happened alongside Sumter's broader effort to revitalize and grow the community. Community leaders were focused on moving Sumter to the next level.
And a little more green was one way to do it.
Sumter Green became a nonprofit in 1996, opening the door for growth and expansion of its work. Originally, the effort focused on four entryways into Sumter. Early grants, fundraising and community support helped the nonprofit launch its projects. As the organization developed, it had to figure out how to become sustainable, which required continued awareness, fundraising and community support. After gaining recognition and financial contributions from state and local governments, Sumter Green expanded to enhance major corridors and green spaces throughout the county, one of its first being Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce's Chamber Park.
As the nonprofit developed,Wild said it held true to one of its most important aspects: Contributions go directly into the community. Its board is volunteer-based, which means proceeds help to maintain the nonprofit and its projects. Fall Feast remains the organization's annual fundraiser and is heavily supported through donations. Businesses and partners that participate donate their time, food and other items. Ticket partners donate and help raise money for the event. Entertainment event space is donated as well.
Sumter receives visitors for many reasons, including people coming in for a short stay, new families looking for a place to call home and retirees looking to settle down. Wild said people naturally notice a community's appearance upon entering a new place. The condition of Sumter's entryways and surrounding green spaces can create community pride before visitors have fully entered town.
That also goes for local wildlife. Wild emphasized that Sumter Green's work preserves and improves green spaces that can have a positive "domino effect" on wildlife, watersheds and the surrounding environment. There are 14 locations with community partners who support the initiative, featuring flowerbeds with blooms that bring life and give a vibrant welcome to those entering the county. Sumter Green has also left its mark on Prisma Health Shot Pouch Greenway, planting trees through contributions and grants. Wild explained the greenway as another example of how beautification can create opportunities to connect with the outdoors. Without these evergreen markers to show that life thrives here, people sometimes drive past these spaces every day and forget to notice them. As with Joe McElveen Park on Broad Street. During its construction, the site went from an empty space to dirt, brick, steel and structures. Once the landscaping was installed, the project came alive.
"Our focus now is to beautify, inspire and connect. That has always been what we've been doing - beautifying, but then we also want to inspire those who enjoy and love their surroundings around them to donate and also hopefully understand that it's good for all of us. It makes a difference. It inspires us to do more," she shared. "It inspires us to not only do our own area, but also help contribute to maintain and grow our community because it really and truly provides the next step of connection."
For its 30th anniversary, Sumter Green highlighted nine Green Legacy partners - BD, Hines Furniture and Bedding, Duke Energy, USC Sumter, FTC, EMS, Walmart, Prisma Health and SAFE Federal Credit Union - that have maintained a longstanding connection with the nonprofit. The organization has also launched its "30 for 30" campaign, which is designed to have 300 community members donate - be it $10, $100 or more - to reach a fundraising goal of $30,000 in recognition of Sumter Green's 30th anniversary. Money raised through the campaign will go toward additional projects and the revitalization of different Sumter green spaces.
Wild said Sumter Green's legacy - it's "green legacy," as she put it - is less about the individual people who planted flowers, served on a board or participated in a particular project and more about what today's work leaves behind for future generations. Her philosophy is that if everyone contributed to that goal, the community would succeed collectively.
"Where we are today is now truly a green legacy," she said. "Where we are today was built on a foundation that started long ago, and now we have the opportunity to continue to add to it to only make it stronger."
"It isn't what we plant today. It's what we leave behind for our future generations."