COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS FUNDRAISING CHALLENGE:
Meet the $25,000 Bartee Family Fundraising Match
GAME ON!
Ken and Sue Bartee, who previously resided on Kiawah Island, have announced a generous match gift contribution of up to $25,000 in support of Communities In Schools of South Carolina (CISSC), and challenge the Kiawah community to meet this match.
If that match is met, the Kiawah community would be contributing at least $50,000 to give at-risk students the support they need to succeed inside and out of the classroom.
WHAT DOES COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS DO?
At Title I (K-12) public schools, Communities In Schools provides integrated support services through onsite coordinators who assess the needs of at-risk students to connect them with existing community resources so that they can overcome barriers and focus on learning. These holistic services may include academic tutoring and mentoring, the fulfillment of basic needs, family engagement, behavioral intervention, physical and mental health support, college prep, career readiness, and more.
CISSC ON JOHNS ISLAND
Communities In Schools of South Carolina (CISSC) currently serves 25,500 students through a team of 47 site coordinators at 41 schools. On Johns Island alone, site coordinators provide 145 K-12 students with integrated support services at three Title I Schools: Mt. Zion Elementary School, Haut Gap Middle School and St. John’s High School. CISSC has served students in the Johns Island schools for more than two decades.
Make a Donation
Ready to support our local students and help Kiawah Cares raise the $25,000 to be matched by the Bartee family?
Click below make a donation and please write: “Kiawah Cares” under Additional Comments at the bottom of the donate page.
Ken’s Mentee: RJ (above): At the regional track and field competition, RJ placed first in the 800m dash and second for the 4x800m and 4x400m.
KEN’S CISSC MENTORSHIP STORY
Ken first became acquainted with the CISSC program by attending a local fundraiser in 2017. He felt a personal connection to an idea that is central to the mission of CIS: access to higher education and hard work are a key to systemic life change. Ken is a first-generation college graduate from James Madison University. Since 2020, he has faithfully mentored a St. John’s High School student named RJ. Throughout the COVID pandemic, Ken checked in with his mentee, RJ, weekly, and Ken now returns to Kiawah each month to spend time with him. They talk about their shared interests (sports) while Ken helps sharpen his focus on future planning, grades, accountability and college and career preparation.
Ken continues to go above and beyond through his relationship with RJ. When the St. John’s High School track team needed a new timing system last Spring, Ken & Sue asked their Kiawah friends and neighbors to help. He knew that without this essential piece of equipment, the school would not be eligible to host a regional track meet, and open doors for scholarship opportunities for underserved students like RJ.
The guidance and mentorship provided by Ken has been instrumental to the progress RJ has made towards college, but Ken maintains that he is the beneficiary of so much more through the relationship they have built.
Through Ken’s mentorship with CISSC, he’s provided his mentees with the essential “Five Basics” that every child deserves:
A one-on-one relationship with a caring adult
A safe place to learn and grow
A healthy start and a healthy future
A marketable skill to use upon graduation
A chance to give back to peers and community
More Ways to Support Our Students
VOLUNTEER
Become a Mentor or Lunch Buddy
Communities In Schools of South Carolina encourages you to get personally involved as a mentor, tutor or lunch buddy, just as Ken has. The local Johns Island schools that are seeking volunteers are Mt. Zion Elementary School, Haut Gap Middle School and St. John’s High School.
Volunteerism comes in all shapes and sizes! Learn more about what each of our local schools is looking for:
Mt. Zion Elementary:
In-class volunteers: reading or math tutors for small groups, helping with homework while the teacher does small groups, etc.
Mentors (specifically males!): CISSC started a 1:1 boys mentorship group last year that they hope to grow next year. Men commit to coming to school 1x/wk to hang out, toss a football or play a game and spend about 30 min - an hour with their mentee. It’s really casual and not academic based!
Volunteers to spearhead any extracurriculars. We currently do not have any clubs or sports or extracurriculars of any kind (outside of the brand-new Girls on the Run group) and any community support to help build some would be amazing!
Haut Gap Middle School:
Lunch buddies,
Math tutors
More male mentors
St. John’s High School:
Mentors: female (1 or 2), and male mentors
Math tutor – 1 or 2
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
Light up the Skies to Honor and Support Our Students
Sunday, Nov. 12 from 6-8 p.m.
Brittlebank Park: 185 Lockwood Drive, Charleston
Light a luminary in celebration of American Education Week and honor a CISSC student for just $10. The goal is to light up 25,500 luminaries as a tribute to all 25,500 CISSC students and 41 schools. Funds raised will allow CISSC to expand into even more Title I public schools across the state. Luminaries will be lit at multiple South Carolina locations on Sunday, November 12 from 6-8 p.m. Attend or Donate a $10 Luminary.