Lake Carolina Gives Back

Lake Carolina Properties has donated $50,000 to six local charities through its beneficiary, Children’s Charities of the Midlands. 

This year has been difficult for all of us, but for those families and children who are the most vulnerable, it has been especially troubling. 

This donation was made possible through various community events and fundraisers at Lake Carolina from spring 2019 through the beginning of 2020. 

Recipient organizations in 2020 include:

• Epworth Children’s Home provides residential care to children from unstable and abusive homes.
• Family Connection of South Carolina provides parent-to-parent support to families of children with disabilities or special healthcare needs.
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) funds Type 1 Diabetes research.
• Rising Champions of Prisma Children’s Hospital helps fund special projects and initiatives supporting the needs of Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital.
• The Unumb Center for Neurodevelopment provides evidence-based diagnostic and therapeutic services to people with autism spectrum disorder.
• Vitality South Carolina which lends durable medical equipment to the community of Columbia.

The biggest fundraising event of the year at Lake Carolina was the Polar Bear Plunge, held on the second Saturday of each January. Gary Matthews, longtime resident of Lake Carolina, has spearheaded efforts for his “ChippenWhales” team to increase participants and fundraising every year. The collective efforts of Gary and his ChippenWhales team raised over $40,000 this year alone. Gary says, “After going through my own very personal circumstance with my child many years ago, I know how important it is to support these organizations that are doing such amazing work. I am thrilled I get a chance to do this through the community where I live. I’m also so proud of my friends and family who continue to grow each year to raise money for these important causes.” 

David Tuttle, President at Lake Carolina Development, says, “Lake Carolina has become such a great, diverse community for over 20 years, and still building. We have many great events that allow neighbors to get to know each other better but they also provide an opportunity to unite and give back in order to make a real difference in the lives of children in our community and beyond. I’m thrilled we get to play a small part in the important work of these organizations.” 

For more information about living in Lake Carolina and/or events within the community, visit www.lakecarolina.com.

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Lake Carolina is the largest master planned community in Columbia, South Carolina. Situated on 1,850 acres and consisting of 39 unique neighborhoods and approximately 15,000 residents, Lake Carolina has been named the HBA Community of the Year for 10+ years.  Within the community are over six miles of shoreline on a 200-acre freshwater lake for swimming, fishing, sailing, boating and waterskiing; 30+ miles and 300 acres of walking trails, parks and protected green space; a Town Center with shopping, dining and professional services; Family Rogers YMCA; and two award-winning Richland Schools. Lake Carolina features traditional new homes, townhomes, apartments, live/work residences, executive courtyard and single-family homes from the $100’s to over $1 million. For more information, visit www.lakecarolina.com. 

Lake Carolina Properties presented a check for $31,000 to five local charities through its beneficiary, Children’s Charities of the Midlands.

This gift was made possible through various community events and fundraisers at Lake Carolina, like the Polar Bear Plunge in January, Oyster Roast in March, and the Wine & Food Festival in October.

Recipient organizations include:

• Abundant Life Equipment Lending Library which lends durable medical equipment to the community of Columbia;
• Autism Academy of South Carolina offering individualized Applied Behavior Analysis therapy (ABA) to clients with Autism Spectrum Disorder;
• Family Connection of South Carolina which provides parent-to-parent support to families of children with disabilities or special healthcare needs;
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) which funds Type 1 Diabetes research; and
• Rising Champions of Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital which helps fund special projects and initiatives supporting the needs of Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital.

The biggest fundraising event of the year at Lake Carolina was the Polar Bear Plunge, held on the second Saturday of each January. Gary Matthews, longtime resident of Lake Carolina, has spearheaded efforts for his “ChippenWhales” team to increase participants and fundraising every year. Gary says, “After going through my own very personal circumstance with my child many years ago, I know how important it is to support these organizations that are doing such amazing work. I’m thrilled I get a chance to do this through the community where I live.”

David Tuttle, President at Lake Carolina Development, says, “Lake Carolina is such a great, diverse community. We have so many great events that are great for the neighbors to all get to know each other better but they’re also a time to unite and give back to make a real difference in the lives of children in our community and beyond. I’m thrilled we get to play a small part in the important work these organizations are doing in the lives of so many young people.”

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Lake Carolina is the largest master planned community in Columbia, South Carolina. Situated on 1,850 acres and consisting of 39 unique neighborhoods and approximately 15,000 residents, Lake Carolina has been named the HBA Community of the Year for 10+ years.  Within the community are over six miles of shoreline on a 200-acre freshwater lake for swimming, fishing, sailing, boating and waterskiing; 30+ miles and 300 acres of walking trails, parks and protected green space; a Town Center with shopping, dining and professional services; Family Rogers YMCA; and two award-winning Richland Schools. Lake Carolina features traditional new homes, townhomes, apartments, live/work residences, executive courtyard and single-family homes from the $100’s to over $1 million.

For more information, visit www.lakecarolina.com.

Funding Provided by Community Events and Neighborhood Donations

Columbia, SC – Lake Carolina Development, through its beneficiary, Children’s Charities of the Midlands, presented five local charities with a combined donation of $28,000.

This gift was made possible through events at Lake Carolina such as the Polar Bear Plunge in January, Oyster Roast in March, and the Wine & Food Festival in October. Recipients include:

• Abundant Life Equipment Lending Library which lends durable medical equipment to the community of Columbia;

• Autism Academy of South Carolina offers individualized Applied Behavior Analysis therapy (ABA) to clients with Autism Spectrum Disorder;

• Family Connection of South Carolina which provides parent-to-parent support to families of children with disabilities or special health care needs;

• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) which funds Type 1 Diabetes research; and

• Rising Champions of Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital which helps fund special projects and initiatives supporting the needs of Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital.

“The support of Lake Carolina and Children’s Charities of the Midlands aids us a great deal as we seek to spread awareness of type 1 diabetes and raise funds for research. Within the last month alone, we’ve learned of 20 children being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, with a similar number of adults being diagnosed in the same time period. The support of Lake Carolina and many organizations like them allow us to move research forward,” says Kevin Simmons, Executive Director of the Palmetto Chapter of JDRF.

The biggest fundraising event each year at Lake Carolina is the Polar Bear Plunge, held on the second Saturday of each January. Gary Matthews, a long-time resident of Lake Carolina, formed a fundraising team called the ChippenWhales many years ago and has raised tens of thousands of dollars over the years for Children’s Charities of the Midlands. Gary says, “After going through my own personal circumstance many years ago, I realize how important it is to give back to these charities that are doing such great work. I’m so glad I get the chance to do this through the community where I live.”

David Tuttle, President at Lake Carolina Development, says, “Lake Carolina is such a great, diverse community. We feel like these events are not only a terrific way for neighbors to get to know each other better but also come together to make a real difference in the lives of children in our community and beyond. I’m thrilled that we get to play a small part in the important work these organizations are doing.”

Abundant Life Equipment Lending Library is located within the Lake Carolina community. With patients of all abilities, Kathleen Ganley takes special pride in her work providing physical therapy services, support and lending equipment to children with special needs. Kathleen said, “Lake Carolina is such a great community that works together for every child, no matter the ability. I appreciate so much the support they provide to us and our mission to make sure we provide opportunities of growth for all our children.”

For more information about Lake Carolina or upcoming events in the community, visit www.lakecarolina.com.

Lake Carolina Wine & Food Festival Raises $16,000 for
Children’s Charities of the Midlands

COLUMBIA, SC –  Lake Carolina’s Annual Wine & Food Festival, which took place in October experienced a record number of attendees.  Guests sipped & savored some of Columbia’s best food & wine on a beautiful fall afternoon on the Village Green at Lake Carolina.  Proceeds from the event benefitted Children’s Charities of the Midlands, in which two special charities were chosen.

Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital received $10,000 for their Palliative Care program.  The program helps children and their families to achieve the best quality of life when living with life-limiting and chronic illnesses. This program provides comprehensive services to alleviate distressing symptoms; be they physical, psychological, spiritual, educational, or social. The team consists of a physician, nurse, child life specialist, social worker, and chaplain and is involved with the patient from the onset of their condition and works cooperatively with the primary physician providers as (potentially) curative therapies are pursued. Patients with cystic fibrosis, HIV, cancer, neurologic disorders, metabolic diseases, extreme prematurity and major trauma can benefit from Palliative Care services. Patients care for by Palliative Care teams have greater symptom control, spend less time in the hospital, have shorter hospital stays, and indeed, live longer than similarly matched patients not receiving Palliative Care services.

The pediatric palliative care program at Children’s Hospital helps improve the physical, emotional and spiritual health of patients and families affected by potentially life limiting illnesses. Often times, our ‘comfort cart’ becomes a critical tool for helping patients feel normalcy. It contains items such as pajamas for an image conscious child who is facing a hospital stay for dialysis as well as books and resources to help a child understand why a sibling has to stay in the hospital for an extended period. Because of the generosity of volunteers and supporters of the 11th Annual Wine & Food Festival at Lake Carolina, we can continue to offer these items,” said Debbie Kamowski, COMPASS
Team nurse coordinator, Pediatric Palliative Care, Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital.

Abundant Life Lending Library in Lake Carolina received $6,000 from the
Wine & Food Festival.  The additional funds will help Columbia area children
receive equipment to recover from devastating illnesses and accidents.  Columbia did not have a durable medical equipment library.  Abundance Life Equipment Lending Library, located at the Village Green, was established in October 2010 to meet this need.

 “It’s only fitting that a portion of funds raised during this year’s Lake Carolina Food and Wine Festival would go to help one of the organizations located in our own Village Green,” said David Tuttle, President Lake Carolina. “We appreciate Kathleen’s dedication to improving the lives of our neighbors and children throughout the Midlands.”