Real Estate News, South Carolina

The Reserve at Lake Keowee Gives $141,000 to Local Charities

The Reserve Charitable Foundation
Published on December 20, 2016

Christmas came early for eight local Upstate charities earlier this month, when The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s Charitable Foundation unveiled a record-breaking total of $141,000 its community raised in 2016 – a 28 percent increase from the Foundation’s 2015 annual gift of $110,000. In the ten years since the Foundation’s inception, it has raised and donated $541,000 to local charities.

Representatives from each local charity gathered on Tuesday, December 6, at Founders Hall in The Reserve’s Village for the special announcement and funds disbursement. A Christmas Show with the Southern Wesleyan University Singers followed the charity check presentation.

The 2016 beneficiaries of The Reserve at Lake Keowee Charitable Foundation’s annual gift include:

  1. Helping Hands Children’s Shelter
  2. Feed a Hungry Child
  3. Pickens County Meals on Wheels
  4. Pickens Senior Center
  5. Ripple of One
  6. Safe Harbor Battered Women’s Shelter
  7. Samaritan’s Health
  8. Family Promise

“I am so proud of our members for the time, talent, and donations they have given this year,” said Georgia Elley, Chairman of The Reserve at Lake Keowee Charitable Foundation Board of Trustees. “In 2016, we raised a record amount for local charities, money that will help them continue their programming and enhance the quality of life for the families they help.”

Four fundraising events throughout the year make the $141,000 gift possible: the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX, The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s 2016 Charity Golf Classic and Auction, the community’s Garden Club Home Tour, and its Swine and Dine Dinner & Auction.

Milledge Cassell, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Feed a Hungry Child, described this as the “biggest donation we’ve ever gotten from an individual, organization or grant.” In terms of the level of impact this gift will have on the organization’s ability to serve out its mission, Cassell said that this one contribution would be the equivalent of feeding more than 600 children each week for nearly three months straight.

Ripple of One’s Executive Director, Stephanie Enders, stated “We are so grateful to be a recipient of The Reserve’s Foundation. This funding will be utilized for monthly rewards, a savings match and paid internships – which ultimately move our families into lives of independence.”

Non-profit charitable organizations may apply by November 30 each year to be considered as a beneficiary for the following year. The Foundation’s Outreach Committee reviews applications, and all members of The Reserve at Lake Keowee vote upon a vetted list of finalists. Selected beneficiaries are notified in February, and The Reserve disburses funds in December.

About The Reserve at Lake Keowee Community and Charitable Foundations

The Reserve at Lake Keowee Community Foundation is a non-profit organization created to enhance the quality of life at The Reserve and in the local area while fulfilling a sense of community and philanthropy for The Reserve’s members. The Community Foundation sponsors regular cultural events, including concerts, plays, lectures, and an Artist in Residence. The Foundation has four major functions: 1.) Help preserve the area’s natural resources through environmental stewardship; 2.) Provide educational programs for The Reserve’s members and guests; 3.) Promote an arts program at The Reserve; and 4.) Provide outreach activities for neighboring communities in Pickens County, S.C., through The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s 501(c)(3) Charitable Foundation.