It is important to give back.  Through the years, my incredible wife  Laurie volunteered my sons and me in Deep Well(cleaning and stocking the warehouse), Habitat for Humanity(sweeping and pounding nails), Family Promises(yard and office work), church programs, nursing homes(delivering old board games or sitting with seniors), collecting winter coats for the Homeless in Savannah, cleaning up the May River, picking up trash on the roadsides, delivering Thanksgiving dinner to a 90 year woman living alone on Daufuskie and the list continues.  It is important and easy to get involved in giving back on Hilton Head Island.  Listed below are some of the many volunteer organizations that you can get involved with(or make up your own):

Beaufort County Charities & Non-profit Organizations

• ACCESS Network – HIV/AIDS service organization
• American Red Cross – Carolina Lowcountry Chapter
• Bluffton Rotary Club
• Bluffton Self Help – provides short-term emergency assistance for those in need
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry
  –  Bluffton Club
  –  Hilton Head Island Club
• Citizens Opposed to Domestic Abuse
• Community Foundation of the Lowcountry
• Deep Well Project – provides assistance to Hilton Head Island residents in need
• Family Promise of Beaufort County – helping homeless families
• Friends of Caroline Hospice
• Goodwill Industries of Lower South Carolina
• Heroes on Horseback – Bluffton – equine activities for individuals with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities
• Hilton Head Island Regional Habitat for Humanity
• Literacy Volunteers of the Lowcountry
• LowCountry Habitat for Humanity
• LowCountry Legal Aid
• The Penn Center – works to promote and preserve the history and culture of the Sea Islands, with a focus on the Gullah traditions
• Room at the Inn – This is a wonderful Christian organization that takes in pregnant young women who don’t want to abort their babies and have no place else to go.
• Rotary Club of Beaufort
• Rotary Club of Hilton Head Island
• Second Helpings – distributes food to over 65 area agencies
• South Carolina Volunteer Guardian ad Litem Program – Beaufort County – voices for children in foster care
• United Way of the Lowcountry
• Volunteers in Medicine Clinic – Hilton Head – free health clinic utilizing retired health care professionals

Coastal SC Environmental & Conservation Organizations

• Audubon Society
  –  Charleston Audubon Society
  –  Hilton Head Audubon Society
  –  Waccamaw Audubon Society
• Awendaw Community Action Group – working to maintain Awendaw’s rural characteristics
• Belle W. Baruch Foundation – manages Hobcaw Barony, 17,500-acre wildlife refuge in Georgetown County
• Beaufort County Open Land Trust
• Cape Romain Bird Observatory
• Center for Birds of Prey – Charleston
• Charleston Earth Force – Lowcountry Youth in Action
• Charleston Parks Conservancy – working to perserve the city’s parks
  –  Park Angels of Charleston – volunteer to help the parks
• Charleston Peace – environmental and social activism group
• Charleston Water Keeper – improving the quality of waterways
• Coastal Conservation Association South Carolina
• Coastal Conservation League
  –  Bubba’s No Fool – opposes development of massive nuclear waste dump in South Carolina
  –  Global Warming Guy – a lighthearted video looks at the serious issue of global climate change
  –  New Way to Work – presents alternatives to the expansion of I-526
  –  SC Says NO – fighting against Santee Cooper’s proposed Pee Dee coal plant
• CoastMatters – Georgetown and Horry counties conservation group
• Concerned Citizens of the Sea Islands – against expansion of I-526
• Contain the Port – local and statewide alliance opposing the State Port Authority’s proposed marine cargo terminal on Daniel Island
• Deedee Paschal Barrier Island Trust
• Edisto Island Freecycle – recycle bulletin board for free items
• Edisto Island Open Land Trust
• Edisto Island Preservation Alliance
• Edisto River Canoe & Kayak Trail Commission
• Folly Beach Turtle Watch Program
• Friends of Hunting Island State Park
• Friends of the Edisto – FRED – Edisto River Basin
• Friends of the Lowcountry – coalition of business and environmental groups raising awareness of the effects of global warming on SC
• Friends of the Rivers
• Go Green Charleston – learn how to lessen your impact on the environment
  –  Local recycling locations – click red pin for details
• Green Drinks Charleston – monthly social gatherings for those interested in meeting other environmentally-friendly people
  –  Carrotmob Charleston – event to support socially responsible businesses
• Greenbelt Education Project – Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester
• Hobcaw Barony – Georgetown County – 17,500-acre wildlife refuge
• IRE / Islanders for Responsible Expansion – James Island – grassroots environmental watchdog group – sign up for email updates
• Island Turtle Team – Isle of Palms
• Keep Charleston Beautiful
• Keep North Charleston Beautiful
• Kiawah Island Natural Habitat Conservancy
• Kiawah Island Turtle Patrol
• Long Island – preserving this inland estuary marsh island between Folly Beach and James Island
• Lowcountry Earth Force – Charleston – engages youth to improve their environment and communities
• Lowcountry Environmental Education Programs – Charleston – teaching about the environment through experiential learning
• Lowcountry Estuarium – Port Royal
• LowCountry Institute – educates on importance of conservation around Port Royal Sound, considered to be a unique environment with special water and land quality issues
• Lowcountry Open Land Trust
• Morris Island Coalition
• Mount Pleasant Open Space Foundation
• Nemours Wildlife Foundation – Beaufort
• North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve – Georgetown
• Ridgeland Freecycle – recycle bulletin board for free items
• Santee Riverkeeper – improve and protect the Santee River, Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie
• Save the Angel Oak – Johns Island – working to save the forest around the Angel Oak Tree from development
• Save Pinckney Colony – Beaufort – working to prevent large-scale development
• SEWEE Association – Mount Pleasant – South Eastern Wildlife and Environment Education Association – works to preserve National Wildlife Refuges and National Forests and provide education programs
• Slow Food Charleston – promoting local cuisine, organic foods
• South Carolina Coastal Conservation League
  –  Bubba’s No Fool – opposes development of massive nuclear waste dump in South Carolina
  –  Global Warming Guy – a lighthearted video looks at the serious issue of global climate change
  –  New Way to Work – presents alternatives to the expansion of I-526
  –  SC Says NO – fighting against Santee Cooper’s proposed Pee Dee coal plant
• South Carolina Coastal Information Network – education, training for coastal community officials
• South Carolina Environmental Law Project – Pawleys Island – legal services and advice to environmental organizations
• Sustainability Institute – North Charleston – workshops & info to make existing homes more energy-efficient
• Surfrider Foundation – works to protect SC oceans, waves, beaches
  –  Charleston Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation
  –  Grand Strand Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation – Myrtle Beach
• Support Smart Growth – citizens for responsible growth in Northern Beaufort County
• Waccamaw Riverkeeper Program – Winyah Rivers Foundation

Beaufort County Soup Kitchens & Shelters

• Family Promise of Beaufort County
  Bluffton – 843-815-4211
  Provides temporary housing and meals for homeless families with children

Beaufort County Food Banks & Pantries

• Bluffton Self Help
  Bluffton – 1264 May River Road – 843-757-8000
  Provides food and assistance for those in crisis situation
• Lowcountry Food Bank | Chefs’ Feast
  Yemassee – One Guess Road
  Provides food for 400 Lowcountry hunger-relief organizations
• Sandalwood Community Food Pantry
  Hilton Head Island – 31 Matthews Drive (next to Traditions Furniture Store) – 843-645-0935
  Feeding the hungry of Hilton Gardens and The Oaks on Tuesdays and Fridays 12:00PM-2:00PM
• Second Helpings
  Hilton Head – 843-689-3689 or 877-286-3663
  Distributes food to over 65 area agencies

Beaufort County Affordable Housing Resources

• Habitat for Humanity
  – Hilton Head Island Regional Habitat for Humanity
  – LowCountry Habitat for Humanity – Beaufort

More Beaufort County Homelessness Resources

• Deep Well Project
  Hilton Head Island – 154-A Beach City Road
  Provides assistance to Hilton Head Island residents in need
• Directory of hunger & homelessness services in Beaufort County