SC Bar gives four Lowcountry groups $375K

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South Carolina Bar

The philanthropic branch of the South Carolina Bar gave more than $375,000 to four Lowcountry organizations recently to help with the groups' legal functions.

The S.C. Bar Foundation gave $42,500 to Citizens Opposed to Domestic Abuse, or CODA, to help pay for lawyers and court advocates for domestic abuse victims in Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton and Hampton counties, and to help educate court personnel and law enforcement about domestic violence.

LowCountry Legal Aid received $97,175 to continue operating its legal clinic in Bluffton, where retired attorneys provide free legal services to low-income clients.

The grant also supports a "Law School for Non-Lawyers" session to instruct residents on general legal topics.

The Center for Heirs Property Preservation received $154,000 to help its organizers provide legal assistance to low-income residents who need help with heirs property issues, among other things.

Heirs property is land that is difficult to get a clear title on because it has been passed down for generations without wills or other documentation of ownership.

Crisis Ministries' Homeless Justice Project received $85,000 to provide civil legal services and social services to more than 200 homeless people in Charleston.

Over the years, the Bar foundation has awarded more than $41 million to legal-related nonprofit and philanthropic organizations.