And in the end, fun is what it’s all about. Well, that, and giving back.
Coming Back for Seconds: Rock N’ Ribs returns to fill your ears with rock and your belly with some of the best barbecue on earth.
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Charity
Bluffton Self Help: Paving Path Through Education
Unfortunately, many teachers must pay for snacks out of their own pockets to provide for children who are unable or forgot to bring snacks from home. To ensure every child is ready to learn, Bluffton Self Help provides free snacks all year long to each Bluffton public school.
How to Save A Life: Alliance Group Realty Saves Lives, One Patient At a Time
“My hope is that someday we have someone walk into our office and say, ‘I just wanted to come in here and thank you guys because without you, I wouldn’t be here.’” – Bob Clarkson
Fun in the Sun for Everyone
Pockets Full of Sunshine hosts annual event A happy group of 2022 Fun in the Sun for Everyone participants Since 2014, Pockets Full of Sunshine (PFS), 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization, has been...
Grant Backus’ Story of Growth
Grant Backus and his son Grady on Hilton Head Island. The head superintendent for First Tee-The Lowcountry exemplifies the transformative spirit of the organization. The beauty of something like...
The Unseen: Local charitable organization, Palmetto Dunes Cares, unveils real needs of area children and families
Would it surprise you to know that there are children living on Hilton Head Island who go to bed hungry? Would you be shocked to learn that many infants born in the Lowcountry die because they lack...
The Commissioning Journey
Six years ago, I sat with my husband, our eleventh-grade son, and a Marine Colonel at Truffles, having lunch to discuss taking the road less traveled. As the parents of a child interested in the...
Heroes on Horseback: Empowering lives one stride at a time
For thousands of years, the bond between man and animal has proven to be effective in creating an emotional, healing effect. Horses are used by physical, speech, and occupational therapists to reach...
Cross That Off Your Bike-It List: Island bike adventure guide Jim “Captain” Hook finishes with milestone ride
It was an easy nickname. He’s Jim Hook, and he’s the captain of the ride, so, Captain Hook it was. Being a captain of a large vacation and tourism bike ride was never part of the plan; he just loved...
Teeing up For the Community: First Tee – The Lowcountry honors community members who reflect their core values.
Anyone who has ever seen instructors from First Tee –The Lowcountry know that there’s far more to each lesson than just teaching the game of golf. Yes, students and adults across the region benefit...
It Takes One. It Takes You.
Local pickleball tourney saving lives by getting people talking about life, loss, love, and surviving addiction
Palmetto Dunes Cares Zeros in on Environment and Youth: Sharpen the Focus, Expand the Impact
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself what you really care about? Outside of yourself, your family, and your loved ones, what matters to you? Chances are you care about many world issues and...
Who’s Saving Who?
In partnership with Palmetto Animal League, May River High School students help build no-kill community through advocacy, fundraising, volunteerism, and education
Hilton Head Island Seafood Festival
Practically any festival that has existed on Hilton Head Island for any decent length of time can trace its roots back to a small gathering of some well-intentioned locals hoping to raise some money...
Presenting Exceptional Voices through Exceptional Art: Full Spectrum Studio provides safe, supportive environment for special artists to develop, create, and sell their art
Cat McDermott, Victoria Bramson and Allison Good spend the afternoon painting. The mention of the word “artist” typically conjures up ideas associated with a person’s skill, creativity, and vision....
Martina the Therapy Dog: Bringing hope, joy, and smiles to seniors and special needs adults
These days, it’s not uncommon to see all kinds of pets in all kinds of places. Recently, someone posted a picture of a couple of sunbathers on the beach lounging beside their pet duck who seemed to...
Ordained by Pod: The Lowcountry’s resident ace reporter and her trusty producer took a moment away from their ultra-popular podcast to tie the knot.
Mandy Matney and David Moses have never tended to follow tradition. The most obvious example would be the way they parlayed Matney’s extensive reporting into the Murdaugh family into a smash hit...
The Tide Rolls Back In: Palmetto Ocean Conservancy sets course for the future.
The thing about the sea, as any sailor will tell you, is that it’s fickle. One minute, it can be a calm pane of glass stretching away to the horizon. The next, it can be boiling over with gale...
My New York City Run
I wasn’t exactly sure what to say in the wake of the completion of my first ever marathon in New York City last month. It was somewhat hard to put into words. On the one hand, over a million people...
The Sunshine Family
Local organization, ‘Pockets Full of Sunshine,’ adds purpose, pride, and meaning to the lives of adults with disabilities
Our 268 Acre Foxhole
More than a sporting club or enchanting event location, according to its members, Legacy Oaks Preserve is, “a lifesaving venue.”
Ciao, Lowcountry!
Unless you’ve been living in a tree stump, you may have noticed the island has been rather … ahem … congested these past few months. How often does one muse, “Where are all these people coming...
The Turtle Trot: Weekly beachfront fun run for a great cause
For the past five years during the summer months, anywhere between 300 and 400 locals and visitors of all ages have gathered each Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. on the beautiful beach at Palmetto Dunes...
2022 Men Behind the Business
Dave Miller Superior Services 36 Persimmon St #202, Bluffton, SC 29910 (843) 682-2665 gotosuperior.com What services does your business provide? Whole-house service solutions, AC repair, plumbing,...
Watterson Focused On Brewing Lowcountry Business Equality
Watterson elevates the entrepreneurial spirit and encourages growth of black-owned businesses through programs supported by the Lowcountry Legacy Fund. It’s a mix most businessmen have often found...
The Top Shots at First Tee
Meet the men behind the life skills and expert instruction that are changing children’s lives at First Tee — The Lowcountry.
Giving “Paws” for Furry Friendships: Hilton Head Humane Association praises volunteers, recruits more
“It’s all about the animals!” said Iris, pet adopter turned volunteer and now a full-fledged employee at Hilton Head Humane Association (HHH). “Puppy dog kisses and kitty cat purrs are big rewards...
On a Wing and Prayer: 25th annual (well, mostly annual) WingFest flies to new nest at Lowcountry Celebration Park
Those of you with long memories will recall one of the greatest celebrations we used to enjoy back in the before times. Back when masks were a Halloween-only accessory, hand sanitizer was only for...
Hopping Yachts for Hospice: Hospice Care of the Lowcountry announces highly anticipated exclusive event
If spending an evening hopping more than 20 luxury sailing vessels in the name of charity sounds like your kind of event, then the Yacht Hop, benefitting Hospice Care of the Lowcountry (HCL), is for you.
Tulips Thrift Store:Meet the local shop that’s building a dream, from secondhand to a second chance at life.
As you page through listings or directories of local thrift, consignment, and secondhand shops, like the southeast region’s “Treasure Guide,” you’ll find exactly that: a guide to treasures tucked in...
Tina Simmons’ Story: Putting the Self Help in Bluffton Self Help
The mission of Bluffton’s storied charity organization, like Bluffton itself, has evolved.
Driven to Give: Boys & Girls Club of Bluffton taking Santa’s Workshop to the next level
Generally speaking, there is no shortage of miracles this time of year. Call it the Christmas spirit, call it the generosity of the season, whatever it is, it seems to ease open our hearts just a little. We give more freely. We share more openly. We take care of those around us, inspired by a renewed sense of fellowship and love.
A Neighborhood with Purpose
With the amount of the rapid development and burgeoning municipal growth in Bluffton and the surrounding area, there’s a particularly bright spot of city planning that reads like a “restoring faith...
Editor’s Note: November 2021
Do you have a heart for serving others? After spending a few weeks photographing and talking to some local volunteers for this issue, I can say that, by and large, our community does. Please read...
The True Spirit of the Community
Let it never be said that the Lowcountry doesn’t know how to give back. Ours is a community built on a spirit of volunteerism, where any need that needs filled will soon find itself with a small army of helpers at their disposal. When we set out to spotlight a few of the legion of selfless locals who call our area home, we knew the hardest job would be in limiting our search. While the volunteers you see here are to be lauded for their generosity and spirit, know that for every face you see here, there are hundreds more ready to make life a little better in our community.
A Flocking Good Time: The biggest event you probably haven’t heard of, Pledge the Pink, returns
There are some events that dominate the calendar here on Hilton Head Island. Sure, the usual run of things has been disrupted over the last year or so, but as we return to normal, we know exactly what to look forward to in any given month. You know exactly when your favorite food festivals are, when you’re going to get to check out some classic cars at the Concours and when your opportunity to get some PGA autographs will be.
Far More Than a Crowning Achievement:A budding leader hopes her Miss South Carolina win is just the beginning of a lifetime of impacting social change.
Julia Herrin is the crown-wearing embodiment of taking advantage of opportunity. At age 13, the shy piano-playing middle child of Lowcountry musical entrepreneurs Jeff and Jennifer Herrin decided to forge a completely foreign path by trying to become Miss Teen Hilton Head Island.
“My best friend, my mom, convinced me to try. I laughed it off at first. Me in pageants? I would never win, so why even try?” said the now-19-year-old Bluffton resident.
SEALKIDS Lowcountry Boil: Fundraising event supports everyday kids living in extraordinary circumstances
SEALKIDS, the only nonprofit organization devoted solely to the educational support and success of children in the Navy SEAL community, and Jim and Connie Sewell, honorary event chairs, invite the public to join them on August 5 for a Lowcountry Boil at Coast Oceanfront Dining, 87 North Sea Pines Drive, on Hilton Head Island. A reception opening the fundraising event begins at 6:30 and dinner is served at 7:30.
A New Program Giving Hope Through Exercise: Island fitness guru turns attention to battling debilitating disease
Fitness is personal. It’s the one thing above all that Heath Babb has learned in his three-decade journey in the fitness industry. There has to be a drive, an inner reason, and any program that truly achieves results tailors the plan specifically to a client’s needs and goals.
Harvesting Heritage : Take a tour of the biggest tourist attraction in Sea Pines you’ve never visited
Trends and plants are both perennial things. They blossom and mature, are harvested, and then lay dormant until the season returns.
Got $100 and an Hour to Spare? Join 100 Men Who Care and discover a simple but powerful opportunity to make a difference right here at home
What can you buy for $100? The answer might depend on where you shop. But for many of us, $100 slips through our fingers fairly quickly, and we often have little to show for it. What would that same $100 do for a local charity? What would $10,000 do for that same organization?
Don Ryan Center for Innovation Launches New Program to Help the Lowcountry’s HEROES Become Entrepreneurs: With grant from the SC Department of Commerce Office of Innovation, DRCI “gives back” to those who give so much to the community
Every day, the heroes of the Lowcountry give tirelessly of themselves while giving back to all those in our community. Now the Don Ryan Center for Innovation, with a grant from the South Carolina...
Good Vibrations: Island musicians rally around a message of hope, unity and above all things… love.
Sound, in and of itself, is a miraculous thing. Taken at its simplest, most granular level, it is merely a vibration, a rippling of the air molecules all around us that generates a sympathetic vibration in everything it touches. Sound can shatter glass, or it can heal emotional wounds. It can move the soul, or it can start an avalanche. Sometimes, it does all those things at once.
First Tee – The Lowcountry: Beyond the green: building a brighter future, one duffer at a time
On paper, First Tee exists to teach young people the game of golf. But then again, on paper, the game of golf is just putting a ball into a tiny hole. Like so many things, it’s not about the goal, but how you get there.
Craving Connection? Women’s Association of Hilton Head Island dishing up friendship, fun, and opportunities to serve
We were not meant to be alone in this world. Neuroscience suggests that we are hardwired to interact and connect with one another. While COVID-19 may have caused a temporary power disruption, the Women’s Association of Hilton Head Island (WAHHI) is busy restoring the circuits, creating new pathways for connection in socially responsible ways.
Building a Better Sandbox Children’s Museum
A beloved island institution turns the page on COVID and readies for its next chapter.
A Note from Lisa Sulka
At the Don Ryan Center for Innovation, we are continually working on ways in which we can best serve the Bluffton community. Among our entrepreneurial programs and business development endeavors, we choose to focus our efforts on improving the program, which is most beneficial to individuals living in the Bluffton community: Membership!
The Heroes and the Helpers: COVID-19 brings out the Lowcountry’s best
A global pandemic doesn’t play favorites. Regardless of age, wealth or status, we’ve all been thrust into survival mode—every man for himself, fighting to stay alive. While some of us have resources to sustain us through this time of crisis, others do not. In addition to the challenge of protecting their health, many Lowcountry residents find themselves suddenly unable to meet their most basic needs, like keeping a roof over their head and putting food on the table.