Do you need a ride to a COVID testing or vaccination site in Sumter?

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Please note that due to the threat of COVID-19, some of the following events may be cancelled or rescheduled unexpectedly.

Santee-Wateree Regional Transportation Authority (SWRTA) is offering free rides to COVID-19 vaccinations and COVID-19 testing sites. Contact SWRTA from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday at (803) 934-0396.

Sumter Newcomers' Club is not just for new residents. Get to know your city while making new friends for life. We have monthly coffees with guest speakers where you can get to know us. Play canasta, hand and foot, triple play, bunko, Phase 10 and/or many other games. The club also has a book club you may be interested in. Join us for lunch at a local restaurant once a month. For information, call Shelly Brown at (803) 481-0110.

The General George L. Mabry Jr. Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 817 meets at 6 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at the Combat Veteran Building, 529 N. Wise Drive, Sumter, SC 29153. The meetings are held to foster an environment of goodwill and camaraderie among combat wounded veterans as well as promote patriotism, assist with finding information and resources, and provide service to all veterans and their families. For more information, visit purpleheart817sumtersc.com or call (803) 983-3770.

The GOP "Republican" meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at The Restaurant at Second Mill (the Quality Inn restaurant), 2390 Broad St., across from Golden Corral. Meetings are open to anyone age 16 years or older. For more information and questions, call (803) 972-4555.

Marine Corps League Detachment 1202 meets at 6 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at the VFW, 1925 Gion St. All present and former Marines are welcome. Call (803) 972-4555.

American Legion Post 15 meets at 6:30 p.m. on the first Monday of each month (except the month of September when they meet on the second Monday) at 34 S. Artillery Drive. All veterans, past and present, are welcome. Call (803) 968-5115.

The Civil Air Patrol Sumter Composite Squadron meets from 6:30 to 9 p.m. each Tuesday at 2945 Airport Road. There are cadet programs, aerospace education programs and emergency services programs. Call Lt. Col. George Stanley at (803) 847-7640. Visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com for information.

The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 12-1 meets at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at the Summerton Fire Station, North Cantey Street, Summerton. Membership is open to any U.S. citizen age 17 or older. Previous service in the Coast Guard is not required. The auxiliary's main objective is to promote safe recreational boating on Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie by offering safe boating classes, courtesy vessel checks for required safety equipment and patrolling the lakes offering assistance to anyone in need. The auxiliary also stands ready to assist the USCG with their mission along with search and rescue. We encourage anyone interested in participating in our mission to attend a meeting and learn more about the auxiliary.

Temple Sinai Jewish History Center is seeking docents. Docents must be 18 years of age or older and willing to attend educational training prior to starting. This is a volunteer position and you will be asked to commit a few hours a week (Thursday or Friday afternoon or Saturday morning) for a minimum of three months. The museum will work with students who want to arrange class credit through their college. The Center covers South Carolina and Sumter Jewish history, the Holocaust and Sumter's ties to the Holocaust. Docents must be friendly and comfortable engaging with both children and adults. Contact Diana Roof at (803) 468-8630 or at temple@sumtercountymuseum.org or Annie Rivers at (803) 775-0908 or at arivers@sumtercountymuseum.org.

Lake Marion VFW Post 11078, Summerton, meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 1 Duke St., Summerton, behind First Citizens Bank. Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. with the meeting beginning at 7 p.m. All VFW members are encouraged to attend. Call Carl A. Farley at (803) 460-8910.

The Bishopville / Manning / Shaw Air Force Base Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. meets at 10 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month at the South Sumter Combat Veterans Group headquarters building, 529 N. Wise Drive. Call James Munford at (803) 795-2903 or Kenneth Benjamin at (803) 773-8514.

Connected Warriors Inc. offers evidenced based trauma-conscious therapeutic yoga to service members, veterans and their families at no cost to participants at 5 p.m. on Wednesdays on Shaw Air Force Base for those who have access to the base and at 5 p.m. on Fridays at Southern Bliss Yoga, 600 Bultman Drive, number 4. Call Melissa at (803) 468-1658, email southernblissyoga@yahoo.com or visit www.connectedwarriors.org for details.

The Purple Heart Chapter of Sumter is sponsoring a project to have all Purple Heart medal recipients inducted into the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor located in New York. An enrollment application must be completed by the medal recipient or next of kin if the veteran is deceased. Proof of the award of the medal is required and, if possible, a photograph of the recipient. Call Willie Washington at (720) 203-2112 for details and assistance.

The Single Parent Institute meets from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. on the second Monday of each month at the Birnie HOPE Center. Meetings are open to teenage single parents, custodial and non-custodial single parents. You are welcome to bring your children as the Single Parent Institute is for the entire family. Contact Dr. L. Quaneck Walkes at (803) 223-9408 or lqwalkes@sctechthisout.com.

Make-A-Wish South Carolina is seeking volunteers to help make wishes come true for children across the state. Bilingual volunteers are especially needed. Interest webinars are offered at 6:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month. Preregistration is required. Contact Brennan Brown at bbrown@sc.wish.org or (864) 250-0702 extension 112 to register for the webinar or begin the application process.

The Sumter Combat Veterans Group holds weekly peer to peer meetings at 11 a.m. every Tuesday at the South HOPE Center, 1125 S. Lafayette Drive. These meetings are designed for veterans to help other veterans with PTSD, coping skills, claims, benefits, therapeutic counseling sponsored by the Columbia VET Center at 11 a.m. each Tuesday, and one-on-one counseling 9 a.m.-3 p.m. every other Wednesday. Open to all area veterans. Call James Thomas at (803) 765-9944.

Having cancer is hard. Finding help shouldn't be. Free help for cancer patients from the American Cancer Society. Transportation to treatment, help for appearance related side effects of treatment, nutrition help, one-on-one breast cancer support, free housing away from home during treatment, help finding clinical trials, someone to talk to - all free. Call (800) 227-2345.