Community Center gathers gifts for foster children

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Santa Claus came in a different suit this year for Clarendon County’s foster children. Sponsors from the Manning area helped buy gifts for the children through the Just Because Resource Center. Housed in a small building at 313 N. Depot Street in Manning, the Just Because Resource Center is bursting with community involvement. The Center hosts workshops and tutoring sessions, offers mentoring for youth, holds movie events and assists with government and employment services for local residents. They have a Men’s Support Group (Brothers Dwelling Together), a Women’s Support Group (RAWAR) and an afterschool program for ages six and up, and they host a Senior Citizens’ Day every Wednesday from noon to 2 p.m. A notary public is on site, a Summer Camp is offered on site and assistance is provided to young people who left high school without graduating. With all of these activities and services offered to the community, the Center made room for one more project. In 2017, Center Director Virbria Conyers reached out to the Clarendon County DSS with an idea. They wanted to help provide Christmas for the foster children in the Clarendon County DSS system. “We wanted a community project to work on,” said Conyers. “The foster children are already going through turmoil at Christmas, because they’re not with their families. We thought it would be a great idea to encourage them through the holidays.” Now in this second year, the program is still going strong. Clarendon County DSS Foster Care Supervisor Amanda Graham is happy with the partnership, as it helps both foster families and DSS to provide Christmas presents for the children in their care. Currently, there are 21 children in the Clarendon foster system, most of whom are not currently living in Clarendon County. As with surrounding counties, Clarendon does not have enough foster homes. Only six foster homes are in the county, with four of these housing children from other counties. Of the 21 children in the Clarendon system, 19 of them are scattered through Darlington, Chesterfield, Horry, Sumter, Lee, Bennettsville, Marion and Williamsburg Counties. Each foster child gets to make a Christmas wish list, and these wish lists were given to Conyers. She then reached out to her network of sponsors, who include the Clarendon County Sheriff’s Department, UPS, Trinity Full Gospel Church in Manning, the Senior Citizens’ Group at the Center, the Men’s Group at the Center, the Women’s Group at the Center, Mt. Calvary F.B.H. Church of Manning, God’s Key Ministry Church of Scranton and Mt. Zero Baptist Church of Manning. The sponsors selected children and went to work. In some cases, several people worked together toward one child’s list, hoping to fulfill some of the more expensive wishes. The gifts were gathered, bagged and labeled for the children at the Center, and Graham came to pick them up on Tuesday morning, along with backpacks from the Sheriff’s Department, which held school supplies and National Child Identification Program kits. “The presents will be taken to the children before Christmas,” said Graham, whose own Christmas wish list includes more local foster families, so children can stay in their schools, keep their friends and have an easier visitation schedule with their families. Conyers would happily induct more sponsoring churches, businesses and individuals into the Christmas gift program. If you are interested, please contact the Center at (803) 435-2789. If you are interested in becoming a foster family or guardian ad litem for the county, also contact the Center. The Just Because Resource Center will continue to pursue community involvement through programs such as this one, following through with their mission to “enlighten underprivileged youths and adults so they can envision a positive future and brighter tomorrow.” They truly are “Reaching beyond the walls.”