Six Local Organizations Awarded $161,000 from Hilton Head Island ARPA/SLFRF COVID-19 Fund

The funding is part of a $5 million American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 grant the Town of Hilton Head Island received to help nonprofits and other qualified organizations respond to the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including healthcare, housing assistance, childcare and education, rent and utility assistance, and food insecurity.

This is the final cycle of the first tranche of funding from the Hilton Head Island ARPA/SLFRF COVID-19 Fund. Last fall, $338,825 was awarded to 13 nonprofits. This cycle, six organizations are sharing the remaining amount of $161,000. Those grant recipients include:

• Bluffton Community Soup Kitchen: $4,100 to fund a two-month pilot program expanding the organization’s existing food service activities for low-income residents of Hilton Head Island.
• Central Oak Grove Baptist Church: $9,900 to fund a three-month pilot program to provide food and household resources to 40 low- to moderate-income families who live on Hilton Head Island and who have been identified as facing food insecurity.
• Hospice Care of the Lowcountry: $25,000 to fund costs incurred for hospice care provided to low- to moderate-income residents of Hilton Head Island who are uninsured or underinsured.
• Sandalwood Community Food Pantry: $30,000 to purchase fresh food, including protein, dairy and produce, and other essential household items for low- to moderate-income families residing on Hilton Head Island who struggle with food insecurity as a result of COVID-19.
• South Carolina Nurse Retention Scholarship Fund: $48,000 to fund reverse scholarship stipends to be awarded to recent graduates from a local nursing program who commit to working on Hilton Head Island for up to four years.
• Volunteers in Medicine: $44,000 for purchase of a refrigerator to store perishable food and up to eight hydroponic farm units as part of a pilot program to grow vegetables, fruit and herbs that will be provided to Hilton Head Island patients who face food insecurity or chronic health conditions.

The final tranche of funding from the Hilton Head Island ARPA/SLFRF COVID-19 Fund is expected to be awarded this summer. Grant application and deadline dates will be announced later.

Questions about the grants can be directed to Debbie Cahoon, Vice President for Community Investment, at dcahoon@cf-lowcountry.org or by calling 843.681.9100.