Founded in August 2018 by Monsignor Rowland, area church leaders, members of the Holy Spirit parish, and local professionals, the Foundation provides essential home repair services. Today, our daily operations-including managing repair projects, processing applications, handling administration, and writing grants are run by four dedicated volunteer parishioners, with direction from our committee.

Since our founding the Foundation has completed 200 repair projects totaling $1,243,683.

To complement other local organizations providing smaller home repairs, we adapted our model in 2026 to focus on larger, higher-impact projects such as roof and HVAC system replacements and septic system repairs and replacements. This shift has dramatically improved our efficiency: we reduced our waitlist from two years (20-30 homeowners) down to less than two weeks, with a backlog of fewer than five homeowners. While this strategic change allows us to serve homeowners faster and more effectively, it also increases our funding requirements:

2025: Completed 33 small to large projects totaling $248,000
2026: On track to complete 40 major repair projects at a projected cost of $400,000.

Our work is made possible through the generous support of our parishioners, visitors, concerned citizens, and grant funding from The Town of Kiawah, Kiawah Cares of the Kiawah Island Community, Beyond Our Gates Foundation, and the Kiawah-Seabrook Exchange Club. 100% of all donations go directly to cover the cost of home repairs.

Speaker At: October 7th Exchange Club Meeting

The Paraclete Foundation of Holy Spirit Catholic Church Website

Michael Scafuri has over thirty years of experience in archaeological survey and excavation around the world, including both terrestrial and underwater projects. His underwater experience ranges from work on the 16th-century Emanuel Point shipwreck in Pensacola, Florida, in 1994 to the 10th-century Byzantine shipwreck near Bozburun, Turkey, from 1995 through 1999.

After completing his graduate work at Texas A&M University, Scafuri joined the H.L. Hunley project in 2000 as a Maritime Archaeologist at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston, SC. He was actively involved in the raising, excavation, and initial analysis of the H.L Hunley submarine and has served as the Senior Project Archaeologist since 2013. Scafuri also regularly teaches an undergraduate course in Underwater Archaeology with Clemson University’s Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice.

Speaker At: September 16th Exchange Club Meeting

Warren Lasch Conservation Center Website

Since 1983, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Charleston has been a “Home-away-from-home” where families stay while their children undergo extensive medical treatment. Over the years — and only because of the generosity of donors who have supported our cause — we have evolved. We continue to develop programs to meet families’ needs as they face the medical uncertainty and financial stress of caring for their children.

At RMHC Charleston, parents and children lead a life as normal as possible during their traumatic times without the financial burden of costly hotel, meal, and travel expenses. Our home offers these families comfortable beds, hot meals, a caring staff, and a four-legged friend, Gardy, all just steps from MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital.

Speaker At: September 2nd Exchange Club Meeting

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Charleston Website

Three Rivers Respite is a seven-acre camp located near Charleston, S.C., that serves as a safe place for children in foster care to bond with other kids on a similar journey. Our goal at Three Rivers Respite is to get kids out in nature to experience the therapeutic aspects of being in the woods, away from the stress of daily life and disconnected from electronics. We want them to have fun with counselors and adults who care about them and are trained to connect with them, and provide the right support in the most trying circumstances.  

We want to build a community of love and support around foster care families. We understand the joys and challenges of foster care. We know foster parents and children in foster care both need a break—and all parents need a time of rest. Short-term respite is an important resource for families to continue the challenging work of caring for children in their home. It also gives the children a much-needed break from the hard realities of foster care. 

Three Rivers Respite is a 501(c)(3) organization that is funded by gifts and donations.  All donations are tax deductible.

Speaker At: August 19th Exchange Club Meeting

Three Rivers Respite Website

Sean Quarmby is a Criminal Justice Professor at Central Piedmont Community College, where he has taught since 2017. In recognition of his contributions to higher education, he was honored by the Association of College and University Educators and serves as a member of the college's Senate.

Before entering academia, Sean completed a distinguished 25-year career with the U.S. Secret Service as a Supervisory Special Agent. He helped protect Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. His investigative experience includes cybercrime, organized crime, bank fraud, identity theft, counterfeiting of U.S. currency, child exploitation, and human trafficking. He also led international training programs on Transnational Organized Crime and Anti-Money Laundering for U.S. Embassy-sponsored groups in Peru, Mexico, Singapore, China, Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, and managed a multi-agency Electronic Crimes Task Force. Sean is a certified Firearms Instructor and Physical Training Instructor.

Sean holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from West Chester University and a Master of Arts in Education from Seton Hall University. He is also the author of Room 23 – A Secret Service Agent's Story of Espionage and Intrigue. Drawing on his years in the Secret Service, his novels combine authentic protective operations, intelligence tradecraft, and real-world investigative experience with compelling geopolitical suspense.

Speaker At: August 5th Exchange Club Meeting

Across South Carolina, approximately 61% of students attending public school live in poverty thereby limiting their access to obtain a quality education. These students are disproportionately children of color who already fall through the cracks in the public education system. Without community support, they are more at risk for missing school, dropping out and failing to earn a high school diploma. By helping our most vulnerable students stay in school and succeed in life, we are building stronger, healthier and more economically stable communities where every person is capable of reaching his or her greatest potential. 

Our school-based staff partner with teachers to identify challenges students face in class or at home and coordinate with community partners to bring outside resources inside schools through our evidence-based model of Integrated Student Supports. From immediate needs like food or clothing to more complex ones like mental health counseling, we do whatever it takes to help students succeed.

Speaker At: July 15th Exchange Club Meeting

Communities In Schools of South Carolina Website

Steve Hirsch is a professional engineer and Chief Operating Officer for Seabrook Island Property Owners Association.  Steve has an undergraduate degree in Biosystems Engineering and a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Clemson University.  He also has an MBA from the University of South Carolina.  He serves on the City of Charleston Planning Commission.  During his 13 years with SIPOA, he has lead infrastructure management programs for the stormwater system, lakes, roads, buildings, amenities, greenspace properties, trails, boardwalks, and beaches.  He is a husband, a father of two (ages 9 and 11), a coach, a golfer, a homebrewer, and proud steward of the environment here at Seabrook Island. 

Speaker At: June 3rd Exchange Club Meeting

Seabrook Island Property Owners Association Website

For 127 years, Young Moms Together (formerly Florence Crittenton) has been a refuge for young women, most recently at our longtime home on St. Margaret Street. But as buildings age and needs change, so must we. That’s why we decided to sell our historic home and create something more flexible, dignified, and aligned with the lives of today’s young mothers.

Young mothers today don’t need institutions—they need connection, opportunity, and access to housing, healthcare, childcare, and emotional support on their own terms. Young Moms Together reflects the heart of who we’ve always been: a community walking alongside young women with respect, trust, and love.

Speaker At: March 18th Exchange Club Meeting

Young Moms Together Website

The mission of St. John’s Fire District is to foster a safe and resilient environment through education, prevention, and effective emergency response.

We will meet the changing needs of our community through a proactive approach. We will move the District forward through an inclusive, family oriented, and customer service-based culture. This will be accomplished with open communication, innovative technology, high professional standards, and a team-based approach.

Speaker At: March 4th Exchange Club Meeting

St. John's Fire District Website

The Angel Oak Preserve will become a 44-acre passive park that provides additional educational, interpretive, and recreational opportunities to the nearby suburban and rural communities. The design prioritizes the health of a treasured state landmark and fundamentally changes the visitor experience at the iconic tree by incorporating interpretive features that highlight the layers of history, culture, and ecology living within the land.

Envisioned not simply as a park, but as a living museum, the Angel Oak Preserve will share untold stories and invite learning through place. Guiding objectives are to connect all people to nature and conservation; to interpret South Carolina’s Indigenous and Civil Rights history through the lens of the tree; and to provide urgently needed, publicly accessible, connective green space for recreation on a rapidly developing sea island.

Lowcountry Land Trust and its partners have conducted extensive community engagement, historical research, archaeological surveys, and ecological analysis since 2022. The process revealed discoveries that significantly expanded the project’s scope and importance, including early 19th-century records of enslaved communities, 5,000–8,000-year-old Indigenous ceremonial tools, oral histories of civil rights leader Septima Clark recalling teaching beneath its branches, and the presence of endangered bat species in its wetlands.

The Preserve will include a carefully designed parking area that removes cars from the Angel Oak’s massive root system, a new welcome center with clean facilities, a gift shop to showcase local makers, and opportunities for discovery around every corner, with over two miles of ADA-accessible trails and boardwalks, an outdoor classroom, and a nature play area. Interpretation will be embedded throughout via signage, maps, former building footprint frames, a healing path planted with medicinal plants, and a Commemorative Walkway offering space for reflection.

Speaker At: February 18th Exchange Club Meeting

Angel Oak Low Country Conservancy Website