Contributed by Jim Kirkland
March 29, 2025
There’s no better way to end Women’s History Month!
The Pearls of Promise and Purpose (POPP), an official interest group of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., serving Dillon County, is dedicated to making a meaningful impact in the community. Under the leadership of President Tabitha James and Vice President Gypsie Murdaugh, our inspiring group of women strives to uphold the initiatives set forth by the current administration. These initiatives include: Strengthening our Sisterhood, Empowering our Families, Building our Economic Wealth, Enhancing our Environment, Advocating for Social Justice, and Uplifting our Local Community.
As part of the Uplift our Local Community initiative, we partnered with Habitat for Humanity for a day of service. Local community members and members of Omicron Lambda were invited to join this meaningful effort. A total of 18 volunteers participated in this historic event-the first time Habitat for Humanity has constructed a home in the county. Collectively, the group contributed 93 volunteer hours and helped frame the internal walls.
Habitat for Humanity’s mission is to build safe, affordable housing for low-income families in need. Their work is made possible through the dedication of volunteers. Providing decent housing can lead to improvements in health, safety, child development, and economic opportunity. Over the course of a house build, volunteer labor saves around $35,000.00 in building costs – a direct savings to the future family.
Toni Graves, the project organizer for POPP, extends heartfelt thanks to Mayor Sterling Lee and Senator Kent Williams for their support. A special thank you also goes to Jim Kirkland, Assistant Director, who helped organized the event and prepared a delicious lunch, and Maxie Hardee, Construction Site Manager, who provided guidance and support to the volunteers.
We look forward to volunteering again and continuing to serve our community with purpose and passion!
April 12, 2025
Pyerian Baptist Church men’s ministry and youth ministry worked on Friday, April 11th, and Saturday, April 12th at Marion-Dillon County Habitat for Humanity’s build site at 400 S Cedar Street in Lake View. They completed the interior walls of the house, nailed the top plate onto the walls, and began nailing the Oriented Strand Board (OSB) onto the exterior of the house. This work moved the project much closer to what is called the dry in stage. Most of the 7 men there Friday had experience in building and quickly became a working team. Then, the youth joined the work on Saturday as the team grew to 17 members and they added youthful exuberance to the work as OSB went up around the house. The church provided their own lunches on Friday and Saturday. Maxie Hardee teamed up with his brother Carl Hardee as the Construction Site managers for Habitat.
Jim Kirkland, Assistant Director for Habitat, is grateful for both groups joining our efforts to eliminate poverty housing in Marion and Dillon County by building one, decent, affordable home at a time. We continue to look for fraternal groups, businesses, church groups, etc who would like to partner with Habitat and our future home owners to complete this house in Lake View. If your organization would like to participate in this community effort, contact Jim at 843-464-3747.
