Yemassee – Building a better South

May 23, 2017May 23, 2018

Center to hold June classes on understanding, mobilizing community assets

Training in Yemassee, Barnwell to offer tools to local governments, organizations

MAY 24, 2017 | The Center for a Better South will offer two one-day classes by a nationally-acclaimed trainer next month in the S.C. Promise Zone to help neighborhood, nonprofit and local government leaders understand community assets and mobilize them to their advantage.

“Understanding and Mobilizing Community Assets” will be held June 20 in Yemassee and June 21 in Barnwell. The trainer is Ron Dwyer-Voss, founder of Pacific Community Solutions in Sacramento, Calif., through an arrangement with the nationally-acclaimed and congressionally-chartered NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit that helps build skills at the grassroots level.

“Each all-day class will guide people to strengthen their communities from the inside out by providing tools to better understand local assets, build on them and, we hope, generate economic activity,” said Better South President Andy Brack. “We’re fortunate to have a professional of Ron’s caliber join us in the Promise Zone to share his knowledge on how communities can use asset-based community development effectively.”

Each morning session will focus on building on the assets of area communities. Afternoon sessions will outline how to develop neighborhood assessments to improve communities. Lunch will be provided to participants at no cost. Classes are being held in two locations to make the information more accessible to area citizens.

Yemassee session: 9 a.m., June 20. Location: Board room, Lowcountry Council of Governments, 634 Campground Road, Yemassee, S.C. 29945. The class is open to 35 participants. (Note: This location is near the Point South interchange on Interstate 95. It may be more convenient for people from Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties.)

Barnwell session: 9 a.m., June 21. Location: Edisto Room, SouthernCarolina Alliance, 1750 Jackson Ave., Barnwell, S.C. The class is open to 35 participants. Parking is behind the SouthernCarolina building at 54 Irving St. (This location may be more convenient for people in Allendale, Bamberg and Barnwell counties

Register for either class online: http://www.BetterSouth.org/register

Interested in attending?

There is no cost to attend but to attend, you must register. Each class is limited to 35 participants. To register for either class (one session per person only), please go to the link below and follow the instructions for registering.

http://www.BetterSouth.org/register

Important information

Attendance is limited. Reservations are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. If a class fills up, you will be put on a waiting list in case a spot opens. If a spot does not open, we will contact you if a new class is offered.
Lunch will be provided. Participants will receive a lunch at midday.
No show policy. If you register and can’t come, please let us know as soon as possible so we can make a space available to someone else. If you reserve a place and don’t attend, you will be billed $20 to reimburse the Center for lunch. Signing up for the class is a commitment by you to attend for free or pay the lunch fee if you don’t.
Transportation. You will have to provide your own transportation to a class. If you need a ride, please let us know so that we can determine whether there are any carpooling opportunities for you.
Questions. Please send questions by email to: brack@bettersouth.org.

Trainings offered by the Center are provided through a Rural Business Development Grant awarded in 2016 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Center for a Better South was a leading driver of the area’s combined effort to apply for and be successful in winning the federal designation for the region to be a Promise Zone. You can get updates on the Promise Zone at its website: http://www.SCPromiseZone.org.

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April 24, 2017May 11, 2017

More than 30 get grant training in Promise Zone

*Patterson explains the grant-writing process to a group at the Lowcountry Council of Governments in Yemassee. Photos by Andy Brack.*

APRIL 24, 2017 | More than 30 people received grant training in classes last week in Bamberg and Yemassee to help give area leaders more confidence and tools to submit more applications for funding. The classes, taught by South Carolina native Patrick Patterson of Global Partners for Fathers & Families, were funded through a technical training grant to the Center for a Better South by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In the months ahead, the Center plans to have more classes to teach nonprofit and entrepreneurial skills to people who live and work in the Promise Zone, a federal designation that benefits persistently challenged counties in the federal grant process. The next class on May 9 is an Entrepreneurial Boot Camp. (Note: This class is full.)

April 20 training in Bamberg

More than a dozen people met April 20 at the Bamberg County Public Library for the all-day training, which focused on providing tools to make grant-writing more understandable. Part of the benefit of living inside the Promise Zone is it provides extra points on an array of federal grant applications that can give applicants the leg up they need to win funding. Some photos:

*Gidget Stanley-Banks of Allendale offered observations during the training.*

*Leaders listened carefully during the Bamberg training.*

*Columbia resident Courtni Miller made a point during the class as Allendale’s Kiwania Sanders looked on.*

*The Bamberg training class was a diverse group of area leaders.*

April 21 training in Yemassee

On the following day, Patterson met with 17 people at the Lowcountry Council of Government’s facility in the Point South/Yemassee area for the same class to help build capacity for organizations to make grant applications. Some photos:

*Richard Guisti Sr. of Ridgeland discussed material during the Yemassee class as Kathy Bradford of Beaufort, left, and Brenda Singleton of Hardeeville, look on.*

*Patterson makes a point. In the background are participants Geneathea Williams, left, and Jessie Gooding, both of Walterboro.*

*From left are Yemassee Police Chief Greg Alexander, USC Salkehatchie Prof. David Cherry of Walterboro and Joanna Brailey of Garnett, S.C.*

March 23, 2017March 27, 2017

Center to offer two more grant-writing courses in Promise Zone

One-day, intensive training sessions seek to catalyze requests for funding in region

MARCH 23, 2017 | The Center for a Better South will offer one-day grant-writing courses on April 20 in Bamberg and April 21 in Yemassee to help organizations improve skills for seeking federal funding available through the S.C. Promise Zone. Continue reading “Center to offer two more grant-writing courses in Promise Zone”

June 17, 2015

Rolling, rolling, rolling, Yemassee, S.C.

Train crosses road near I-95 in Yemassee, S.C.

A CSX train loaded with wood chips and other cargo barrels down a track near Interstate 95 at Yemassee, S.C., on the edge of Hampton County.

Hampton County, located in the southern part of South Carolina, was home to 21,090 people in 2010, about 4,000 fewer than a century earlier. More. Some 22.6 percent of Hampton County residents live below the poverty line.

Hampton’s annual Watermelon Festival is the state’s longest, continually-running festival. The town of Hampton includes a brownfield of a former medical waste incinerator. More.

QuickFacts from the U.S. Census

October 19, 2013November 17, 2013

Closed Saturday, Yemassee, S.C.

This battered business is what train passengers wee when looking east while at the station in Yemassee, S.C., crossroads of four counties. Next door to this business is a white store with “Praise the Lord” and “Jesus is Lord” painted on large windows. The sign on top of the building says “Church of the Lord Jesus Christ Deliverance.” Down the street is a similar store converted into “The Holy Temple Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, Inc. of the Apostolic Faith.”

While Yemassee touches on Beaufort, Colleton and Jasper counties, the station and buildings in the photo appear to be in Hampton County, home to 21,090 people in 2010, about 4,000 fewer than a century earlier. More. Some 22.6 percent of Hampton County residents live below the poverty line. Hampton’s annual Watermelon Festival is the state’s longest, continually-running festival.

QuickFacts from the U.S. Census

October 16, 2013November 17, 2013

Fresh shrimp, Yemassee, S.C.

The town of Yemassee, S.C., which is at the intersection of four different Crescent counties, is all about shrimp. It has a shrimp festival every year. And as you can see from this picture, it’s even sold in bait shops (although, we’ve got to admit, that from some angles, the sign appears to be pointing to the pool hall.)

Just around the corner from this commercial complex is the other big thing in Yemassee — the Amtrak station. While Yemassee touches on Beaufort, Colleton and Jasper counties, the station and buildings in the photo are in Hampton County, home to 21,090 people in 2010, about 4,000 fewer than a century earlier. More. Some 22.6 percent of Hampton County residents live below the poverty line. Hampton’s annual Watermelon Festival is the state’s longest, continually-running festival.

QuickFacts from the U.S. Census