Foundation Donates to Special Needs Students

Posted on 02/21/2020

Members of the Columbus HOPE Foundation visited Lake City High School’s Career Discovery Lab and Dr. Ronald E. McNair School of Digital Communication and Leadership’s Sensory Room on February 19 to present the Office of Exceptional Children with a $1,000.

The Columbus HOPE Foundation Inc. has generously donated yearly to send Florence School District 3’s students with disabilities to the annual Special Olympics Area 1 Spring Games.

The Columbus HOPE Foundation Inc. is a South Carolina-based non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation operated by the South Carolina Knights of Columbus.  The foundation is dedicated to bettering the environment for, and increasing the self-reliance and dignity of, people with intellectual disabilities and special needs. They believe these individuals should have the community support, tools and resources necessary to lead independent productive lives. 

The Columbus HOPE Foundation accomplishes its mission by developing supplemental sources of funding to augment the available state and federal money for intellectual disabled and special needs citizens.

Locally they host a Tootsie Roll fundraising event in Lake City and throughout Florence County.  While they do not sell Tootsie Rolls, donations are collected for people with intellectual disabilities and the proceeds are used in the local area and within South Carolina.

Since its inception in 1977 the Columbus HOPE Foundation has raised more than $9 million to assist South Carolina citizens with intellectual disabilities and special needs.  Last year the foundation raised $423,331 state-wide.

Florence School District Three is sincerely grateful to the Columbus Hope Foundation for their continued support of students with disabilities. 
Image of Joe Balotti and Fran Barcomb of the Knights of Columbus presenting a check to Lenora Caldwell, FSD3 student services facilitator, and Cheryl Hubbard-George, FSD3 director of the office of exceptional children.