By Cheryl Moore Adamson
Director, Palmetto Works

By God’s grace, the Palmetto Kids Music & Arts Academy held its summer enrichment program for three weeks staffed by eight Coastal Carolina University students with the support of CCU’s music department.

Our camp co-director was Anika Lawrence, who participated with us through the program of CBF National, Student.Go.  She did an excellent job under the supervision of Katrina Reaves and Devita Parnell. The camp was hosted by Rob Donahue and the congregation at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Conway. Transportation was provided by James H. Cokley and the Cherry Hill Missionary Baptist Church. Breakfast and lunch were provided by the USDA Summer Foods Program through James Paisley and the Waccamaw EOC. CBFSC Coordinator Jay Kieve provided training for our staff which was very informative and well received.

Erica Kupinski created a program for our students which included percussion lessons on various instruments along with voice lessons and choral instructions. These lessons were led daily by three students who are a part of the newly accredited Master’s Level music degree program at CCU. Our students learned four choral pieces which they performed during the closing program, the favorite of which was “My Shot” from Hamilton.

Our kids also worked on an artistic wall installation and participated in trauma informed group discussions which were mentally and spiritually transformative. The students in the Palmetto Youth Leadership Academy, our junior camp counselors, also participated in a literacy program for teens centered around the reading of “Stella by Starlight,” a depression-era novel about a young girl bravely facing the violent re-appearance of the Ku Klux Klan in her segregated southern town.

CHOPS found a way to help community throughout pandemic

We are excited by the soft re-opening of CHOPS Produce on Tuesday, September 14, 2021. Kyle Kinsale, a US Navy veteran, opened The Bling Tee Boutique, an embellished apparel company on our premises featuring fancy, blinged-out t-shirts.

Shaqusia Coleman and Labria Strong, two sisters, opened the Juice Crush Juicing Company featuring fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies, and other nutritious products.

Throughout our closure, CHOPS Produce spearheaded the distribution of the USDA Farmers to Families food distribution in collaboration with eight other churches and community organizations. We also promoted COVID vaccinations through t-shirt sales and coordinating appointments with CareTeam Plus, a regional healthcare provider lead by Johanna Haynes.

We are looking forward to our nation achieving herd immunity and to a new life beyond the pandemic. Thank you all for your prayers and support.