With the holiday season in full swing, you may be looking for a way to give back to your community. There are plenty of ways to get involved, but we’re giving you the inside scoop on two programs in particular: blessing boxes and community fridges in the Lowcountry.
Blessing boxes are designated locations for residents of each community to drop off non-perishable food items, personal hygiene products and toiletries, and other household items for someone else in the community that may be in need. The process is simple: bring what you can and take what you need. Drop off and pick up are completely anonymous.
Beginning in 2017, the Lowcountry Blessing Box Project now includes more than 200 blessing boxes throughout the Charleston area. The project’s website outlines the locations for community members, categorized by each city throughout the Lowcountry.
Blessing box locations:
North Charleston
Charleston Farms, 1517 Greenbay Dr.
Cooper River Baptist Church, 1509 Crawford St.
North Charleston High School, 1087 E Montague Ave (accessed via Jenkins or Hyde Ave.)
Pro tip: there’s even a pet food blessing box for your furry friend in North Charleston, located at Wag-n-Splash at 4600 Ruff Rd., Unit E.
Mount Pleasant
Hibben UMC, 690 Coleman Blvd.
Growing Minds, 3050 Grape Ln.
Heather Bosse Insurance 2917 N. Highway 17
Charleston
FUEL, 211 Rutledge Ave.
Greek Orthodox Church, 30 Race St.
Pauline Books & Media Center, 243 King St.
Shout out to any CofC students or parents of students: students can access the Cougar Pantry in the Theodore S. Stern Student Center at CofC by presenting their Cougar card.
Don’t see a location near you? Check out this interactive map to find a blessing box close by.
The website also lists community fridges in the area. Community fridges — similar in mission to blessing boxes — are locations where local businesses and individuals of the community can drop off strictly food. All food in the fridge is free and accessible to community members.
Community fridge locations:
West Ashley
The Pink House, 1522 Mulberry St.
North Charleston
Destin Community Cafe, 5060 Dorchester Rd.
Charleston
Mt. Carmel Church, 95 Cooper St.
Hollywood
St. Paul’s Library, 5130 SC-165
There are plenty of ways to get involved with these efforts. Aside from donating items to a location, you are also welcome to make a one-time or monthly monetary donation, build your own blessing box using provided building plans, volunteer your time to events found on the organization’s Facebook page, purchase merch, or donate from home through the Amazon wishlist.