In this issue...

• No Lazy Days of Summer at St. Lawrence Place

• St. Lawrence Place Summer in Review
• The "Big Brown Truck" Delivers...Books!
• Summer Volunteers Donate Sweat Equity
• Children's Program Wish List
• 2008 Greenery Sale to Benefit St. Lawrence Place

No Lazy Days of Summer at St. Lawrence Place!
There were no lazy days this summer at St. Lawrence Place! Over 32 children from St. Lawrence Place, nearby Family Shelter and PATH Programs, and area neighborhoods enjoyed 11 weeks of educational and fun field trips.
The St. Lawrence Place children’s program kicked off 2008 summer camp in June and ended the summer on August 7th with a cookout and carnival for all staff, residents, and children.

The summer was filled with bowling, skating, swimming, ‘Wet and Wild’ Days, and field trips to Young Chef’s Academy, Kensington Mansion, Fort Jackson Water Park, and the Police Academy. John Tudor, a local magician, came out for a day; and the kids went to Riverbanks Zoo and Sesquicentennial State Park.

Children were fed breakfast, lunch and snacks each day, including a hot, homemade breakfast on Fridays.

The children attended several Vacation Bible Schools, including St. John’s Episcopal, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and First Calvary Baptist Church. During those weeks, SLP children worked along side other community children their age as they learned to give back to their community.

UPS brought enough books to create a whole new library for the children’s program, and Rolling Readers volunteers provided hours of reading to the children. Fast Forward Community Technology Center donated a week of free half-day technology camps.

St. Lawrence Place children and staff had a great summer! We thank all supporters, volunteers and families for helping make it such a success.

Special thanks to those who made Summer Camp at St. Lawrence Place possible:
City of Columbia, EFSP, Mrs. Bonnie Smith, Shandon Presbyterian Church, Little Chef’s Academy, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Richland One Summer Feeding Program, Fast Forward Technology Center, John Tudor,
Trinity Episcopal Church & Camp Bob, First Nazareth Baptist Church, and First Calvary Baptist Church.

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St. Lawrence Place Summer in Review
By Mike Miller, Chairman, Board of Directors
What a summer! While some of us were busy vacationing with our families, the staff, families and volunteers of St. Lawrence Place have continued to add to the growing list of accomplishments.

St. Lawrence Place’s Summer Camp hosted over 30 children for 11 weeks. Sincere thank you’s to the many volunteers who chose to spend time with the children, and a special thanks to the area churches that opened their doors and hearts during their Vacation Bible School to St. Lawrence Place, including St. John’s Episcopal, Trinity Cathedral Episcopal and First Calvary Baptist Church.

Kathwood Baptist Church dedicated their renovated “home” on July 17th. I use the word “home” intentionally, as the apartment they’ve worked on so hard welcomes you warmly as you walk through the door. The congregation put in over 500 volunteer hours – and their efforts are so appreciated by us all.

Six families graduated from St. Lawrence Place over the past two months. These families have moved on to their own permanent homes in the Columbia area. Several still stop by and spend time at SLP – and their children are still with us at summer camp. Staff and volunteers are hard at work– getting ready for the new families that will take their place in our program. If you or a group would like to help paint or do some light cleaning, please contact one of our staff members at St. Lawrence Place.

The Board of Directors continues to work on our Strategic Plan. We want to be sure we set the best course for the organization – following best practices and securing the financial stability of Trinity Housing and St. Lawrence Place.

Finally, I want to recognize the staff of St. Lawrence Place. Through their efforts, St. Lawrence Place has been selected to participate in the Partners in Compassion Institute, through the United Way of the Midlands. Participation in the Institute is granted on a competitive basis. Selected participants receive staff and volunteer training, technical assistance, and financial assistance to strengthen the organization's ability to lead, market, operate and raise money. In addition, our families are making great strides, our programs are growing stronger, and the dozens of children on campus are thriving. We all owe the staff of St. Lawrence Place a heartfelt thank you.

Please continue to keep the families, volunteers and staff in your thoughts and prayers as we all continue to work towards our goal of making St. Lawrence Place a recognized leader for transitioning families from homelessness to permanent housing and independent living.

The “Big Brown Truck” Delivers . . . . Books!
In late June a UPS truck pulled up to St. Lawrence Place, but not with any ordinary package—it carried over 1,500 new and gently used books! St. Lawrence Place volunteer and advocate, Greg Fary, organized a book drive for the children’s program among UPS employees as well as at his daughters’ school and other area businesses: Leaphart Elementary School, All Star Gymnastics, Women’s Leadership Development, Columbia UPS Air Ramp Operations, and Orangeburg UPS Operations.

The books included adult and children’s literature and completely filled the children’s library as well as the adult resource room! Because of the generosity of the employees and students, many of the books were even sent home with the children.

A special thanks to Greg Fary, Skip Easter, David Brown, Alvina Harrison, Principal Dr. Appling, Linda Birchmore and Troy Hammett. The St. Lawrence Place family is grateful for this generous donation! Stop by to see our new library!

Summer Volunteers Donate Sweat Equity
The Independent Sector, with statistics from the Bureau of Labor, has estimated the dollar value of a volunteer hour in the state of South Carolina to be $15.52. Based on this, the 765 hours of time donated to St. Lawrence Place between June and August 2008 is worth over $11,872.80.

Volunteers maintained the grass and flower beds, planted new flowers, cleaned apartments, washed the SLP van and bus, sorted books for the library, taught Life Skills classes, sorted items in the donation shed, and played games and read to the children in summer camp.

The following groups and individuals, including volunteers ranging in age from 11 to 60, volunteered on the St. Lawrence Place campus: Deloitte, Trinity Episcopal Vacation Bible School, First Presbyterian youth, Midlands Technical College Upward Bound youth, St. John’s Episcopal Vacation Bible School, UPS, Columbia College LEAD program, Kohl’s department store, Northeast Kiwanis Club, Shandon Presbyterian Church youth, Columbia International University youth, Rolling Readers, Ms. Robin Mathias and Columbia College Freshman Day of Service volunteers.

A special thank you to Kathwood Baptist Church volunteers who put in over 500 volunteer hours renovating a single apartment, and to Mary Ann Pruzin and Lynn Muir, who faithfully volunteer each week at St. Lawrence Place.

Children’s Program Wish List
As the SLP Children’s Program gears up for a new school year, donations of the following art and school supplies would be greatly appreciated!
markers/paint construction paper
journals puzzles
educational games colored pencils
flash cards educational software kindergarten lined paper craft items

Our adult residents are in need of personal agendas/calendars and
accordion folders in which to organize bills.

2008 Greenery Sale to Benefit St. Lawrence Place
Going on now
through November 2nd!

Place your order now for
fresh-cut Christmas greenery!
Wreaths Centerpieces
Garlands Swag/Sprays

Great Christmas gifts—you can even have them
shipped directly to friends and family!

Information and order forms are available online at
www.stlawrenceplace.org or on the SLP bulletin board
in the hall near the bookstore at Trinity Cathedral.

To place your order:

Send this form via fax or mail to Becca Smith at
933-0089 or 2400 Waites Rd. Columbia, SC 29204.

Email your order to Becca Smith at
bsmith@stlawrenceplace.org
* Email your order to Beth Yon at dabeyon@aol.com

Payment is not due until orders arrive
After December 3rd!