Volunteers offer meals and companionship

BEAUFORT -- Near the corner of North Street and Meritta Avenue in Beaufort on Wednesday, dozens of children tossed flying discs, footballs and baseballs, and decorated white T-shirts with their own designs.

Nearby, teenage volunteers handed out cheeseburgers and beans from inside a large truck outfitted with a kitchen. The free food, served from noon to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, was advertised as the main attraction, but many kids came for the companionship.

"We've (volunteered) the last two days, and the kids have come out of the woodwork," said Blake Lencki, a recent graduate of Calloway County High School in Murray, Ky., who worked for the Beaufort Salvation Army this week along with eight other volunteers from Group Workcamps Foundation.

"We got here at 9:30 this morning, and there were four or five kids waiting for us to get off the bus. It was clear to us then that we had made a big impression."A lot of (why they come) is for companionship -- being able to laugh and have a good time."

During this week's four lunches, The Salvation Army served nearly 115 meals, director of development Jim McDill said.

Last year, 338 meals were served during the first five weeks of the six-week program, including 33 for people who said they were homeless, though those totals include repeat visitors. This year, organizers are not asking diners if they have a place to stay.

"We don't ask if they're homeless or lonely or hungry, we just respond to the need," McDill said.

Thirty-three people in Beaufort County are homeless, the S.C. Homeless Coalition and the S.C. Office of Research and Statistics estimated in January. There are about 5,594 homeless people statewide, according to the office's estimates, including 15 in Jasper County.

Those numbers are somewhat controversial, however.

Brenda Myers, youth services program coordinator for the S.C. Department of Education, said there were 41 homeless children enrolled in Beaufort County schools during the 2006-07 school year, and 137 homeless children were enrolled the previous year. Myers said the difference could partially be attributed to Hurricane Katrina.

The total for the most recent school year will be available July 11.

The organizers of the Salvation Army soup kitchen, however, aren't just targeting the homeless.

"For people who are struggling to make ends meet, a couple of meals here and there may make a big difference," said Capt. Peggy Griffin, who moved to Beaufort this week when her husband, Capt. Kenny Griffin, took over as commander of the Salvation Army post. "It's also for people who are lonely sitting in their houses, and need someone to talk to."

Undoubtedly, though, the strongest contingent this week was children.

"My 6-year-old is loving it. He's been looking forward to it all day," said Nancy Brancho, who lives in the Mossy Oaks neighborhood with her seven children. "It's all he's talked about: 'I want to go make my T-shirt and play ball.'"

Brancho, like many other people, is feeling the ts of the sluggish economy, and she was happy to find a place for 6-year-old Jadan to play without having to pay a lot of money.

"The way things are these days, everything's so expensive, it helps a lot," she said. "There's not a whole lot to do for free -- summer camps are expensive and day camps are expensive -- and this kills a couple of hours and gets them their exercise."

The meal program, staffed by a rotating crew of volunteers from Group Workcamps, will run through July 31.

Group Workcamps Foundation

• A nonprofit founded in Loveland, Colo., in 1977, Group Workcamps Foundation organizes short-term domestic and international mission trips for volunteers, who are predominately teenagers from church youth groups across the United States.

• The group brought 100 middle- and high-school students to Beaufort County on June 15 to participate in a variety of community projects.

• Those 100 students stayed in Beaufort County for a week, then were replaced by a new group of students. Group Workcamps will maintain a presence in Beaufort County through Aug. 1.