Outlying USC Campuses Are Important to Our Future

The recent discussion regarding the closing of some of our outlying University of South Carolina campuses such as Lancaster and Salkehatchie concerns me. It is pretty easy to put a financial number on a facility and determine that by cutting back or closing it money is saved. I think the real issue here is what a decision of this magnitude will have on those communities and on the young people who reside in or near those communities.

When you look at rural South Carolina where poverty runs rampant, it is a whole different scenario than here in the capital city. There are very few educational options for students beyond high school. Many who live in Allendale and other outlying communities are the first in their families to ever attend college. I recently heard USC President Dr. Harris Pastides say that the gap between no college education and a two-year college degree is monumental. It can mean the difference between a job with growth potential, a retirement plan and health benefits versus a job that pays a minimum hourly wage with no benefits and a very limited future for growth.

With only 23% of the adult population in South Carolina, 18 years and older, having earned a four-year degree, having higher education attainable for these residents is a must. These schools give local students a hope for a better future and an opportunity for a better education right in the community where they reside. This is true not only for high school students, but also for younger students in elementary school. It gives them something tangible to strive for as a student. However, the chances of those same students enrolling in the Columbia campus or traveling 50 miles to the closest technical college are slim at best.

In addition, the influence of these schools goes beyond the classroom and earning degrees. They better the community through their libraries, cultural performances and programs to engage and enhance the residents. These schools bring communities together.

Even though we are going through tough economic times, let’s not throw the proverbial baby out with the bath water. Higher education is the stepping stone for our future workforce and yes, our future economy. Public education in South Carolina has been dismal for years, and I applaud the work of State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex’s effort to raise quality and overall standards for students so they can learn in a better environment and learn from teachers that have all the tools necessary to teach effectively.

But to now reduce the opportunities for extended education beyond high school, particularly in low-income communities, would be a mistake. We have to be sensible with our resources, and I realize that tough decisions must be made in state government with regard to costs and budget shortfalls. However, the last thing I would do is close any college campus in an outlying area. The minimal savings (less than 1% of the state’s higher education budget) that would occur would pale in comparison to the devastation it would have on these rural communities, and it will send a strong message to its young residents and also older working residents that want to go back and continue their education. “We don’t think getting an education beyond high school is that important.”

We already have one corridor of shame with our public schools in the I-95 corridor. Let’s not create a second corridor of shame for higher education, because to me, it will truly mean we are headed in the wrong direction.

Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina.

The One Grant

Since the Foundation’s inception in 1996, there have been over 1,300 grant awards made to hundreds of organizations across South Carolina. Actually, the Foundation has awarded grants in every single county in the state. There have been very large grants and very small grants. Some have served large populations and some have served a small group of people. Several have been very strategic and systemic and others have been to deal with consequences and meeting basic needs of those living in poverty.

I have often been asked which grant made the biggest impact on me personally. That is a difficult question because so many good people are doing tremendous work and I value the hundreds and hundreds of nonprofit organizations and their people who serve others. It is one of the most rewarding parts of our Foundation ministry to me.

But back to the question about one grant. Well, yes there is one grant and grantee that changed my life in an instant. It came unexpectedly and it came quickly.

Back in the late 1990’s, I had a call from the mayor of Ravenel, South Carolina. Ravenel is a small town about 15 miles south of Charleston on Highway 17, also known as Savannah Highway. There is not much to see in Ravenel and most people see it by passing through it on their way to Charleston. The mayor told me about a lady named Claudia Bing who ran a small nonprofit called Caregivers for Individuals with Disabilities and she thought I should visit Ms. Bing to learn more about her work.

I had to be in Charleston the next week so I made arrangements to travel to Ravenel. I did not know what to expect and I wondered if this was going to be a worthwhile trip. The directions I was given was to go to Ravenel and look for the fireworks store in the middle of town on Highway 17, then drive behind the fireworks store to a double-wide mobile home. That is where I would find Ms. Bing. I followed the directions and sure enough I found the location.

It was a modest standard double-wide. As I parked and walked up to the house, I noticed a wheelchair ramp and a van with a lift. I also saw a couple of oxygen tanks on the wooden porch at the entrance. I knocked on the door and Ms. Bing greeted me.

Ms. Bing is a soft spoken older African-American lady and she welcomed me into her home. The first thing I saw was a younger white female in a wheelchair. I then saw another young man also in a wheelchair who was severely handicapped. There was another young adult in a hospital bed and he was very ill. I did not know what to think. I asked Ms. Bing, “What do you do here and what is your ministry?”

Ms. Bing replied, “I care for dying children. These are children that nobody else wants because they have terminal illnesses and have fallen through the foster care system, orphanages, etc. They have no family that wants them.”

I was speechless. Ms. Bing then took me by the hand and led me to her living room where there was a large framed picture collage. It had about 30 pictures in it. She said, “These are my children that I cared for that have passed on.” She began to name them one by one. “This was Cynthia; she was with me for 14 months and died of leukemia. This is Jason; he was with me for three years and died of brain cancer. This was Lawrence; he was with me for two years and died of cystic fibrosis.” She went through each picture one by one and told me their story.

I was beyond overwhelmed by this point. I asked Ms. Bing, “Why do you do this? Isn’t the pain of dealing with a child who is terminally ill a terrible thing and here you are by yourself carrying this heavy load? Tell me why?”

I will never forget her words. Ms. Bing looked me straight in the eye and said, “This is not hard at all. This is my calling. God has given me a gift and I am using it to my full ability. I don’t have a lot of money or material things but I do have a lot of love and I give it each and every day.” She went on to say, “my mission is to love these children and make them feel loved and when it is their time to pass, I will hand each one of them off to God and they will have been loved, valued, blessed and cared for. That is what I do.”

I left Claudia Bing’s home that day a different person. She had just taught me some of the most valuable lessons in life in a single hour. It was real clear and real simple to me. Claudia Bing was one of the richest people I had ever met and for all the right reasons. She received a grant from the Foundation and that is the one grant that changed my life the most.

Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina.

Now What?

A plant near my hometown closed today. Nearly 700 jobs lost in an instant. The plant had been operating in the community for over 50 years. Now it is gone forever. What does it do to that community of 3,000 people? It does everything to it and none of it is good. The repercussions will include store closings, home foreclosures, default on personal loans, long unemployment lines and an overall community that will be devastated beyond recognition. Worse than that, this is just one community in one small state. If you multiply this situation times 1,000 then you get a better picture of what is happening.

We are in deep trouble in this country and it is not getting better in the foreseeable future. Can the government resolve our problems with stimulus money? It may help some, but it will not fix the problems we have. We are now witnessing the consequences of systemic problems that have been going on for years. A propped up financial system, poor loan practices, far too much debt to capital ratio and we are spending money we never had - both as individuals and as a country. We are the “want” generation and not the “need” generation and it is all tumbling down right in our proverbial laps.

Now what? I can tell you one thing; it is a pretty helpless feeling out there. People’s retirement funds have gone down the drain. Homeowners have lost value in their homes by the thousands. Jobs are dropping by the way side at a rate of more than 100,000 per week and state and local governments and school systems are on the brink of bankruptcy.

My advice is to protect your own families and finances as best you can while reaching out to others. There are a lot of people hurting and we have to help.

I was stopped at a gas station in Charlotte this week and a man came up to me and explained he was trying to get home to Asheville and did not have any money to put in his gas tank. He had a clunker car pulled up to the pumps, and he showed me the dollar in change he had. I went inside told the cashier to set his pump for $5 worth of gas and he added his money for a total of $6. It wasn’t much, but it got him on his way.

Help when you can. You may be feeling pain, but there are always others that are suffering more than we are.

Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina.