DARLINGTON, SC (June 29, 2026) |
Momentum is strong, and growing stronger, for the SPC Cares Foundation as it nears its second anniversary in October 2026. The Cares Foundation, founded in the fall of 2024 as a way for SPC Credit Union to strategically support hunger, housing, employment, and education initiatives within Darlington, Marlboro, Chesterfield, and Florence Counties, has awarded $18,200 to local nonprofits in the first six months of the year alone, not to mention nearly $5,000 in Member Hardship Requests and $15,000 in Down Payment Assistance Forgivable Loans.
In May, the Foundation’s Advisory Committee approved one dozen Community Impact Grant requests, each for $1,000. Grant recipients included the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area, Community Action Volunteer Experience (CAVE), Child & Family Resource Center, Christ City of Refuge, Educational Foundation of Lower Florence County, Hartsville Little Theatre, Kingdom Community Services, My Brother’s Keeper, Pee Dee Coalition, Rooted in Hartsville, Rubicon Family Counseling, and the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics. Funding awarded to these organizations will support irrigation installation for a new community garden in Hartsville; the provision of hot meals for homeless and hungry residents of Florence; housing and rehabilitation services for individuals and families emerging from homelessness, addiction, and incarceration in Darlington County; and programmatic needs for a therapeutic day camp for children and families navigating grief, trauma, and loss; among other initiatives that fall within the Foundation’s four pillars.
Jacob Coward, Executive Director of the Educational Foundation of Lower Florence County, said that the Cares Foundation’s support of the EFLFC’s Super Space Camp 2026 “helps get kids excited about learning.” “Some of these kids come from low income, single parent, disadvantaged homes. They don’t even know that being an astronaut is an option,” he explained. After a week of building rockets, creating crater impact zones, and even fighting aliens, 30 students ages 7-14 were well on their way to becoming NASA’s next generation of astronautical engineers. In addition to Super Space Camp, which is a one-hit-summer-wonder, the EFLFC also provides targeted literacy intervention, sponsors several local “Little Free Libraries,” and hosts the area’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
The Foundation’s support of education through creativity also extended to the Hartsville Little Theatre, an organization that seeks to “foster a love of the arts and humanities for local youth by empowering them with confident self-expression in a collaborative environment and by modeling community engagement and healthy exploration of emotional intelligence.” Their most recent performance, The Royal Shakespeare Company Wizard of Oz, wowed a sold-out crowd at Coker University. Megan Woosley-Goodman, one of the theater’s co-directors, commented of SPC’s support, “The SPC Cares Foundation generously provided educational scholarships to four children who did not have access to a performance arts program. The children who were served were able to flourish in our supportive community while building confidence, reading, analytical, and social skills – necessary career and academic skills that we teach in a fun and engaging non-traditional learning environment.”
In addition to the $12,000 awarded to local nonprofits through the Community Impact Grant application process, the Cares Foundation also awarded $2,600 to the Darlington County Coordinating Council during SPC Credit Union’s grand opening celebration at their new Darlington location in February of 2026. The council, known as “DC3,” seeks to proactively create a county-level vision for health and well-being through communication, advocacy, and collaborative partnerships to improve and build stronger networks of care. This amount commemorated the credit union’s 26 years of friendly, personal, and convenient banking service to Darlington residents – a legacy that continues to unfold at the organization’s new location at 109 E. McIver Road. Amanda Boykin, chair of the SPC Cares Foundation Advisory Committee, described DC3 as an organization that “supports all residents of Darlington County through year-round initiatives, including providing school supplies to more than 500 students and feeding families at Thanksgiving.”
The following month, during the credit union’s 85th annual meeting, the Cares Foundation surprised Travis Walters, SPC’s outgoing board president, with an honorary gift of $3,600 to the Darlington County Humane Society. Linda Weatherford, SPC President/CEO, said of this gift, “In honor of Travis Walters and his 36 years of visionary leadership as Chairman of SPC Credit Union, the donation to the Darlington County Humane Society is a reflection of the very values he championed every day. His legacy is one deeply rooted in community, defined by a genuine connection to the people we serve, and driven by a profound compassion for the most vulnerable among us. Through this gift, Travis's enduring spirit of service continues to uplift and protect our local community, ensuring that his warmth and dedication leave a lasting print on the hearts — and paws — of those we serve."
Eight SPC Members were also recognized at the annual meeting as the Foundation’s 2026 scholarship recipients. Hannah Humphries, Hannah James,
Matthew Adams, DeMonte Pendergrass, Sara Preston Hall, Zoe Sanders, Isaac Smith, and JaKarr Spivey each received $1,000 to apply to expenses for higher education. Sara Preston, a rising sophomore at Clemson University, said of being a Foundation scholarship recipient: “Being named a recipient for this prestigious scholarship has truly been such an honor, and I am grateful to be a small part of the SPC Cares Foundation’s generous impact.”
Registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits that operate within the credit union’s field of membership are eligible to apply for Community Impact Grants through the Foundation once a year. Applications are available on the Foundation’s website page, spccu.org/spc-cares-foundation. Member Hardship applications can also be found here, along with eligibility guidelines. Scholarships are available to SPC Members pursuing higher education. Scholarship applications open on October 1 and remain open until February 1 and are also available on the Foundation website.
