These Hilton Head kids needed a place to go after school. This church stepped up

The Neighborhood Outreach Connection, a Beaufort County nonprofit group that targets helping at risk-youth, will move operations from Cordillo Courts, a condominium complex on the island's south end, to St. Luke's Church on Pope Avenue, according to the program's founder Narendra Sharma.

A dispute between the NOC and the Cordillo Courts board went to mediation and was settled out of court in September 2017. That agreement said the group had to cease the Cordillo Courts operation on May 15, 2018.

The NOC will begin operations at St. Luke's the second week of June for its summer program, Sharma said. He expects about 30 to 40 kids at the new location.

Transporting the children is not a concern because St. Luke's is within walking distance of Cordillo Courts, Sharma said.

Greg Kronz, a pastor at St. Luke's Church, said the NOC will be operating out of the church's new fellowship hall, which was completed in the fall.

The program plans to be there for two years until the town completes the redevelopment of the public tennis courts at Cordillo Courts, which will have a community building for the public to use, Sharma said.

Frank Soule, executive director of the Hilton Head Island Recreation Association, said he has spoken to members of the NOC board about using the community building once it is built.

This story was originally published April 4, 2018 at 1:18 PM with the headline "These Hilton Head kids needed a place to go after school. This church stepped up."