Byerly Foundation seeking grant-concept letters from now until September 16

As the executive director of The Byerly Foundation in Hartsville, SC, I wanted to ensure that I put the notice of the opening of the 2012/13 grant cycle on my blog. The Foundation only funds projects having direct impact on the greater Hartsville, S.C. area and with this mission we are striving for high impact.  Here is the news release that went out in early July:

July 1, 2013

Hartsville, S.C. -- The Byerly Foundation will be accepting grant-concept letters from now through September 16, 2013 for the 2013/2014 grant year.

The fundamental mission of The Byerly Foundation is to help the Hartsville, South Carolina area become one of the best places in the world in which to live. All of the grants approved by the Board must have a direct impact on the immediate Hartsville, SC, community. The Foundation has focused its grant making on education, economic development and quality of life projects.

Grant making process begins with Concept Letter

The Foundation's grant making process generally begins with a concept letter of one to three pages. The Foundation funds grants to non-profit 501(C)-3 organizations, schools, colleges, and government-sponsored community projects. Grant making for private foundations is regulated by the U. S. Tax Code. Persons with questions about eligibility should call the Foundation (383-2400).

Concept letters are requested because the Foundation Board desires to minimize the investment of time and resources for organizations to request grant funding. The Board does not require a fully developed grant request but does need certain specific information. The concept letter must include:

• Name of organization and stated proof of eligibility
• A description of the project envisioned by the organization
• The outcome(s) that will result from the implementation of the grant project
• The amount of funding being requested from the Foundation
• The total cost of the planned project and the sources of other funding
• The list of officers and board members of the organization
• An explanation of how the project will make Hartsville a stronger community

The executive director of The Byerly Foundation, Richard Puffer, is available to help answer questions and provide any other guidance that organizations may need as they think about applying for grants. The Foundation's email is byerlyfdn@yahoo.com.

The concept letters may be sent to The Foundation at P.O. Box 1925, Hartsville, SC 29551 or dropped off at the office at 101 North Second Street. They may also be submitted as attachments to an email message.

Grant making timeline

1. The announcement of the grant-making cycle will be in July.
2. Concept letters will be accepted through September 16.
3. The Board will begin reviewing grant requests in October.
4. Organizations being considered for funding will be notified in November.
5. Often, organizations in consideration are asked for additional information.
6. Final grant decisions are generally made prior to December 31.

The Byerly Foundation Makes Grants for Hartsville-area projects

The Byerly Foundation was established in 1995 with the sale of The Byerly Hospital to Hospital Management Associates. The proceeds of that sale were put into a private foundation managed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The Foundation has been making grants for the Hartsville area since 1998. Richard Puffer is the executive director of The Foundation and the Chairman of the Board of Directors is Charles J. Hupfer. Other members of the Board include: David Blackmon, Jerry Cheatham, Rob Tiede, Steve Avant, Monty Bell, Brianna Douglas, Johnna Shirley, Barry Saunders, Alvin Heatley and Todd Shifflet.

For more information, contact: Richard Puffer. He can be reached at 843-383-2400 or by email at dpuffer@gmail.com.

The Byerly Foundation Soliciting Grant-Concept Letters

The Byerly Foundation is soliciting grant-concept letters from now through September 16.

The Byerly Foundation has a mission that is hyper local. It is the goal of The Foundation to help others in the area make Hartsville one of the best places in the world to live. The Foundation can be a catalyst in this work with strategic grantmaking. The Foundation can also be an assistant in this work with partnership grantmaking. Since it began making grants in 1998, The Foundation has combined grantmaking tactics to help in the continuing construction of the community we call Hartsville, SC.

Following is the news release announcing the grant cycle. This release can also be found on the web site:

July 1, 2013

BYERLY FOUNDATION WILL BE ACCEPTING GRANT CONCEPT LETTERS UNTIL SEPTEMBER 16

                Hartsville, SC – The Byerly Foundation will be accepting grant-concept letters from now through September 16, 2013 for the 2013/2014 grant year.

 The fundamental mission of The Byerly Foundation is to help the Hartsville, South Carolina area become one of the best places in the world in which to live. All of the grants approved by the Board must have a direct impact on the immediate Hartsville, SC, community. The Foundation has focused its grant making on education, economic development and quality of life projects.

Grant making process begins with Concept Letter

The Foundation’s grant making process generally begins with a concept letter of one to three pages. The Foundation funds grants to non-profit 501(C)-3 organizations, schools, colleges, and government-sponsored community projects. Grant making for private foundations is regulated by the U. S. Tax Code. Persons with questions about eligibility should call the Foundation (383-2400).

Concept letters are requested because the Foundation Board desires to minimize the investment of time and resources for organizations to request grant funding. The Board does not require a fully developed grant request but does need certain specific information. The concept letter must include:

·         Name of organization and stated proof of eligibility

·         A description of the project envisioned by the organization

·        The outcome(s) that will result from the implementation of the grant project

·         The amount of funding being requested from the Foundation

·        The total cost of the planned project and the sources of other funding

·         The list of officers and board members of the organization

·         An explanation of how the project will make Hartsville a stronger community

The executive director of The Byerly Foundation, Richard Puffer, is available to help answer questions and provide any other guidance that organizations may need as they think about applying for grants. The Foundation’s  email is byerlyfdn@yahoo.com.

The concept letters may be sent to The Foundation at P.O. Box 1925, Hartsville, SC 29551 or dropped off at the office at 101 North Second Street. They may also be submitted as attachments to an email message.                                                                            

Grant making timeline

1.       The announcement of the grant-making cycle will be in July.

2.       Concept letters will be accepted through September 16.

3.       The Board will begin reviewing grant requests in October.

4.       Organizations being considered for funding will be notified in November.

5.       Often, organizations in consideration are asked for additional information.

6.       Final grant decisions are generally made prior to December 31.

The Byerly Foundation Makes Grants for Hartsville-area projects

The Byerly Foundation was established in 1995 with the sale of The Byerly Hospital to Hospital Management Associates. The proceeds of that sale were put into a private foundation managed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The Foundation has been making grants for the Hartsville area since 1998. Richard Puffer is the executive director of The Foundation and the Chairman of the Board of Directors is Charles J. Hupfer. Other members of the Board include: David Blackmon,  Jerry Cheatham, Rob Tiede, Steve Avant, Monty Bell, Brianna Douglas, Johnna Shirley, Barry Saunders, Alvin Heatley and Todd Shifflet.

                                                                                     ###

How does a small community create jobs?

One of the major questions that some people in Hartsville have been discussing over the past several months is "How does a smaller community like Hartsville engage in economic development and create needed jobs."

One idea that is being discussed is finding a way to infuse more new and niche businesses into the Hartsville retail community, taking advantage of the amazing downtown ambiance that many of us seem to take so much for granted. But, as this idea is being discussed, we also hear of some of those same nice, niche, new businesses that we have considering closing their doors because business is just not good enough to pay the bills.

In fact, one of our major communication businesses is moving from their home and for a number of weeks they had problems finding a location in the rental-price range they were needing to pay.

So, as this question of how to create jobs is being discussed, one idea is that we find a large retail space in downtown that could be subdivided into smaller stores that could give a new business enough space to create their "SPACE" while keeping rent low enough to be affordable for a start-up enterprise. If you were going to give a name to such a business, it would probably be incubator -- at least that is what Mayor Pennington calls this space when he is thinking about what might work. A retail incubator could be an idea with merit. There are certainly some major questions. How would a building owner recoup investment? Would it be possible to add to the downtown-loft apartments that have been built the past couple of years and get enough rent from those to make some money on the building, which might now even be able to get enough retail floor rent to pay bills. Would a public passage from the parking lots on College Avenue to the store fronts on Carolina Avenue be a incentive for more shopping in the downtown. Would such a building area be available at price that could make the dream a possibility.

There are many people I have spoken with who say they would like to open a business but looking at space costs of more than $800 a month give them a great deal of pause. But, they would love to be in a downtown area that looks like Hartsville's downtown -- if they could afford it.

So, this might be one idea for creating opportunities for people to open new businesses in Hartsville. And, new businesses can create jobs. What other ideas are there for creating jobs in a community like Hartsville?

"Old Geezer" is nearly a month into eight year of not missing a day of running

He’s one of the fastest old geezers you are ever going to know

For the past 2,570+ days Robbie McLendon has been pounding the pavement for at least three miles and in the past three days he has logged 47 miles, including a marathon distance of 26.2 miles. For those who are not much into math, or even basic arithmetic, that is seven years without missing a day as of August 29, 2011. The 56-year-old self-proclaimed “old Geezer” is on a streak of every day running that puts him in some rare company. Robbie is not only consistent, he is fast. He is fast not just for a 56-year-old, he is fast. This past March, at the 2011 Myrtle Beach Marathon he finished in 3:11:4, placing 65th among more than 3000 runners.

Is there a reason for all this running?
So, what is it that will make someone keep running and running and running. “Welllllll,” said Robbie who was trying to come up with a reason, “If I do it every day, I don’t have to worry about starting back.” In our current era when obesity is a major health concern in the American population and chronic illness like diabetes sidelines hosts of people from active living, Robbie knows he does not want to there…again.
Exercise as a life style
In this age when we have a culture fighting against obesity, chronic illness and disease and a sedentary, sit-in-front-of-the-screen lifestyle, Robbie McLendon shows there are other ways to live.
Daily running streak began in 2004
The running streak began August 29, 2004 about three days after he got out of the hospital with a high blood sugar count that almost put him in a coma. He has always been active and at another time in his life, in his 30s, he was a runner. Back in 1986 he ran a 2:40:05 marathon and finished the famous Charleston “Bridge Run” in 34:45 for the 10-K (6.2 mile) event. He knew what it was like to be in shape. He knew what it was like to be super healthy but then things like work began to take the toll on working out. He was employed with Wellman Industries outside of Darlington. “It was a good job, paid well and was challenging. But, it was not unusual to work 12 and 13 hour days and not get home until midnight or after.” The running and exercising became something he used to do, not something he did.

Eye-opening hospital stay
That day in August 2004 it caught up to him. At the time he was hospitalized, Robbie says he was about 240 pounds and he was carrying most of it in stomach. “I have a small frame, so that was a lot of weight in the middle,” he said. He decided a change was needed and went out for a run and that first run went three miles. He did not record the time but he remembers it being 10 or 11 minutes a mile. He jotted the time and the distance down in a journal and that journal is still where he keeps the daily running record.

One day, then another, then another
The August 29 run led to the August 30 run to the August 31 run and before he knew it, Robbie had a year of running without missing a day. “I started back running to lose the weight, to get back being healthy and it worked,” reflected Robbie as he thought back to that first year. “Then it became a competition and I did not want to stop.”

Running for health
Today, Robbie weighs in at about 160 pounds. He has been off insulin for years and his blood-sugar chemistry is where both he and his doctors like it to be. Once he beat the illness he found he had developed a new drive. Turns out that Robbie is not only a runner, he is one of the most active physical fitness gurus around. His daily workouts at the Hartsville Family YMCA include heavy weight training, usually 30 to 45-minutes ab work, and even occasional classes in P90-X or some of the other programs that are popular. In 2008 it became a little easier for him to expand his workouts as he lost his job with the closing of Wellman. There were not a lot of other jobs available at the time. He didn’t sit around; he got into even better shape. Several months ago he did land a part-time job at the Hartsville Y as a building manager. That is afternoon and night hours and it doesn’t get in the way of his runs his lifting or one of his new-found enjoyments – Yoga. “I started yoga in P-90 X and it not only helps me stretch better, I find it relaxing.”
"Have to run faster..."
And, relaxing is not an adjective that you often hear associated with the old Geezer, who this past week recorded 77 running miles in the journal as he gets ready for the Savannah Rock and Roll Marathon that will be run in November. And, relaxing is not something you associate with someone whose September 22 Facebook post described a workout day that included three (3) mile repeats, 4-200 meter repeats, 10-100 meter repeats…all with a resistance parachute strapped to his back. He uses that type of resistance and repeat training to build up other muscle groups that he hopes will aid him in his continuing quest to win, not just place, in the race.
He loves the thrill of the chase
The old Geezer competes just about every weekend. If he hears there is a starting line and a finish line he is on his way. “Lately, a 52-year old from Sumter has been beating me and I want to get him. I really do love the competition.” His major goal now is to run the Savannah Marathon in 3:05 or less. “I think I can do it,” he says with jaw-set determination. He will continue his 70+ miles a week training for another couple of weeks before he begins his tapering down process where he will reduce those miles to 50 or 60 as the race gets closer.

Easier to run than to stop
On those long runs he does often wonder why he is doing it. He says even today, with all these miles behind and so many yet to go, “It is a love hate type of relationship. I do like the way it makes me feel but it is always hard getting started but then I hate to stop.”

Writer note: I included this story in the Community Building blog because I think people who are doing notable things in our community are examples of how we continue building community. A community of runners and exercisers has been established in our Hartsville area and Robbie McLendon is right in the center of that community. Would love to have you post some of your "Robbie" snippets to this blog.

Rebuilding a sense of community is priority

This past weekend Coker College joined in the Service Day that was part of the commemoration of the events of September 11, 2001. Nearly 300 students and a few faculty and staff headed off to work on a variety of service oriented programs from cleaning up school yards to painting at a Boys and Girls' Club. Coker College is working hard on a goal of building even stronger community with Hartsville, the host community of the college for these past 100-plus years.

And, at lunch this noon in a conversation with Hartsville's City Manager the question of some particular projects needing assistance in our community was one of the discussion items. She mentioned an old cemetery in the South Hartsville area that has again become overrun with weeds and bushes and stuff. She mentioned renovations that are taking place at a park that could use additional volunteer assistance to make happen more quickly. My guess is these projechttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifts can and will happen once people are made aware of the need. One former Hartsville mayor is fond of saying that in Hartsville there are a lot of people who will complain that the trees need watering and then will go and get buckets and water those trees. Some things need government assistance and some things need people assistance and most of the team we get a great deal accomplished when it all works together.

But, as Rich Harwood notes in his recent blog , much of what is going on in areas of our country is not allowing solutions. He calls the politics of today "toxic." The Harwood Institute is working with communities around the country in community building efforts and Rich is a recognized authority in this area. What follows are two paragraphs from his current blog that I think speak to how we can begin chipping away at the problems and finding some solutions:

Harwood says: "Instead, it is everyday citizens – you, me, and others – who ultimately will place the nation on a better trajectory. The task before us is to “rebuild” the nation – but not solely by constructing new memorials and buildings at Ground Zero and elsewhere. For bricks and mortar are not the most important building blocks for this rebuilding.

The first and most fundamental need is to “signal” each other that we are ready to step forward and join together. To achieve this, we must embrace and spread small public acts and rituals that get people out of their homes and demonstrate a sense of connection and compassion for one another – acts such as helping a neighbor, painting a local school, singing public-spirited songs together, and displaying the flag, among others. I am not advocating make-work volunteer efforts, or superficial initiatives, but small acts grounded in a sense of common purpose and accomplishment and the greater good."

Last night People to People in Hartsville held a "Meet the Chief" gathering to further the conversation about law enforcement in our city. I heard that one person stood up and discussed the importance of neighbors joining neighbors and taking back control of their neighborhoods - now -- not later. There is a will that is emerging in cities like Hartsville that we must hope flows across communities and becomes a tipping point of community building before it really feels too late to make a difference.

Clayton Richardson -- Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award Winner

This past Saturday, Coker College presented Clayton Richardson of Hartsville with the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for service to community. I have known Clayton for many years and have been impressed by his zeal to help make Hartsville one of the best places to liven anywhere - for ANYONE. Clayton was one of the founders of a group that still meets in Hartsville called PEOPLE TO PEOPLE. The purpose of this group was to provide a place where people could discuss issues within the community across all the artificial barriers from race to position that are part of a community. The fact that People to People has continued meeting is a testament to the persistence that Clayton brings to helping solve problems and face issues in our community. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force and came back to live in Hartsville after his Air Force years were complete. While Mr. Richardson does go to meetings, his primary purpose is helping to get things done. A week or so ago when the Great American Clean Up was happening -- he was there -- picking up litter (bags of it). Clayton is a doer. He is a believer that working together communities can accomplish great things. He is one of the persons I consistently look toward as example for what it means to be a community builder. Coker's recognition of Clayton Richardson with the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award brings as much honor to Coker as it does to Clayton.
(Photo caption: Dr. Joe Rubenstein, education professor, looks over the Algernon Sydney Sullivan award being held by Clayton Richardson (left).

Hartsville, S.C. Cosmopolitan and Eclectic

From barbecue on the grill to gospel in the park, to canoes and kayaks on the lake to love letters on the stage, to a marketplace along the way, to graduation in front of Davidson, to Old Timers frolicking, to scene-setting blue jeans this last day of April and first days of May have something for just about everyone in Hartsville, SC.

Check Hartsville Downtown Development
Check Hartsville Chamber of Commerce
Check City of Hartsville
Check Coker College of Hartsville
Check Facebook OUR HARTSVILLE
Check Hartsville Community Players
Check Good Living Marketplace
Check Darlington County Tourism

Where do you find this much happening in cities even twice or four times Hartsville's size? And it all takes people who are committed to making their home the best possible place to live!

Newspapers -- were heart of community building

What now?

As we think about community much of this blog is focused on Hartsville, SC. Today the focus is newspapers and their demise, which is being accelerated by business decisions that just don't make sense to this newspaper consumer.

Marsha Mercer's last column for Media General is at the bottom of the editorial page of the MORNING NEWS of Florence, SC, this morning. "Media General deacided a few weeks ago to close the Washington bureau March 27, joing the other media corporations that have taken that difficult step because of the sharp decline in advertising revenues." What are they thinking? What is THE STATE newspaper in Columbia, SC, and their parent McClatchy thinking when they lay off journalists -- the lifeblood of their product?

Media companies all over this country are laying off (firing) employees and particularly journalists to save costs because their ad revenues are down. Many of these media companies are also putting many of their reporters -- print, online and television -- on unpaid furloughs. What does all this mean? Well, the product that news organizations offer consumers is news. The product that news organizations offer advertisers is readership/viewership. When you take away the news that is unique to your medium you take away any reason -- at all -- for readers (consumers) to buy your product. And, generally, most of these companies are not only downsizing their news product they are raising the cost of the product. In my marketing communication classes we quickly cover the traditional 4-Ps of marketing -- Product/Price/Place/Promotion. Is there no one in the business offices of these major media conglomerates (usually the vanguard of marketing) left who remembers the basics?

But, for those of us on the outside this accelerating demise of the news and local news media is even more disturbing. Generally, you would be able to study strong communities and find strong newspapers at their core. What happens to the communities when the newspapers disappear? we know in the small city of Hartsville, SC, that when the news hole is compressed there is a lot less common knowledge of what is happening in the community. We had a recent example of that when the editor of the THE MESSENGER provided the community with a pretty comprehensive article about the serious problem of dilapidated housing that is plaguing the city, especially our South Hartsville area. The editor's article shows the power of the press in highlighting important issues. But, we don't get nearly as much of that any longer in Hartsville, in Columbia, in Charlotte and the list goes on.

My communication career started when I was 12 years old and I entered the communication distribution business in one of the greatest hands-on business training programs available -- the local paper route. So, there is no question that I am a big nostalgic about the way the newspaper companies are accelerating the death of this medium. At the same time, the concern comes in that currently there is nothing taking the place of newspapers in the communication leadership of our communities. That is distressing for the short run. For the longer term I am optimistic that we are going to see some caring, intelligent media mavens who find a way to craft community communication solutions using the multi-platform media that is quickly being perfected. (Think of blogs for example -- we have the ability right in this space to provide words, to provide video pictures and sound, to provide audio files when just voice will work and a wide variety of photos and graphics.) Doug Fisher with grants from the J-Lab at the University of Maryland and some funds from the previous Messenger owners developed Hartville's HARTSVILLE TODAY citizen journalism web platform. As it continues to develop, it might be one of the bridges to the new media.

But in the interim, what are the media companies thinking?

Dynamic time to be living in Hartsville

This is just an observation. This is a dynamic time to be living in Hartsville! No, I am not a native (one of those transplanted Yankees) but I have been here since 1973. We have had interesting and exciting times and today's times may hold the most potential in all the years I have been here. There is a great deal going on and there is a great deal that might go on and when discussing the Selling Hartsville project with heads of the city's departments on Tuesday afternoon, it struck me as to how exciting things are.

By the way, one of the takes on that famed Chinese proverb is "May you live in interesting times."
What am I talking about?

• In downtown Hartsville today there is a major project to help alleviate the problem of the occasional flooding that takes place when we have HUGE downpours. That will strengthen perception of downtown.

• Within the city today will be hundreds of visitors coming for the Little Miss South Carolina pageant. Every day thousands of non-city residents visit the area to work, to shop, to attend special events, to attend college or for some other reason. We get lots of visitors even though Hartsville is not exactly on anyone's 'beaten path.' (http://www.hartsvillesc.com)
  
• Any trip out to Byerly Park will demonstrate the dynamism that is part of the city. There are new fields under construction as people walk to get in shape around the 1.2 mile track or run to get in shape around the quarter-mile competition track.
• Check the meeting schedules of those who help maintain this city and you will see a wide variety of meetings with packed agendas. The comprehensive plan, recently approved by city council, and constructed by more than 60 volunteer citizens in countless meetings, sets out a vision for the city that is requiring connections to be made that are ways of making things happen, but they are not business as usual. In fact, the message that Vern Myers, who is chair of the planning commission, carried to the city department heads on Tuesday was that there are groups of citizens looking for opportunities to help the city make things happen.
• Many downtown shops are becoming destinations for shoppers from around the Pee Dee. Yes, people are coming to Hartsville to shop.
  
• At the end of this month there is another downtown music event scheduled using the big, portable city stage. While not exactly on the heels of 'Rock the Block' this event is hoping to continue that momentum. And, within the next week will be on the largest Fourth of July fireworks events (http://www.hartsvillechamber.org) in the eastern part of South Carolina
• There are a couple of new neighborhoods under construction and those of us living in the city are really anxious for more real-city neighbors.
• The selling Hartsville project is exciting. Three major task forces are working on three crucial elements of this project -- Marketing -- City Legacy Entrances -- Recruiting and these volunteers are demonstrating the specifics of "Hartsville - The Art of Good Living."
• Speaking of the art of good living, we have a fund raiser, photo exhibit scheduled for Black Creek Arts Council and photographers can enter up to three photos @ $15 each for showing. There are a lot of photographers taking advantage of this opportunity to show their work.
• This list could be much longer but it is already too long for a blog.