So others do not go hungry

In a paradise dependent on the tourist industry, members of the local community are going hungry.

Jane Phillips ’74 decided to do something to help.

The former social work major who retired from a career in the United Kingdom with Bloomberg Financial Markets now lives in the Sea Pines community on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. This week, she organized at her community two drives to collect food, household items and personal health products.

“We literally raised a ton,” she said — more than 2,000 pounds of items, the equivalent of 450 bags of groceries. The items will be distributed by Deep Well, the local food bank that makes deliveries of goods to those in need.

“Everyone is in this together,” Phillips told WJCL-22 news. “No one should go hungry — no one.”

Rich Miskewicz ’75 also lives on Hilton Head Island. When Phillips put out the call for volunteers, he stepped up.

“As we are a service-oriented destination, with beaches, restaurants, hotels and many other businesses currently closed, there are many employees — and their families — who are out of work and need help,” he said.

Miskewicz said donors came in cars and on bicycles, and they donated not only items but also cash for the organization to use to buy the items its neighbors need most.

“It is truly heartwarming to see them helping their fellow island residents,” Miskewicz he said.

Phillips said volunteers will take donations again Monday and Wednesday of next week. She also reminds Flyers of a donation method she used this week: call in an order to your local grocery store for delivery and have it dropped off at the food bank. Fewer hands touch the items, decreasing the risk of spreading the novel coronavirus. 

Donations and volunteers demonstrate community support for all the islanders. “It shows the generosity of the community we live in,” Phillips said.

UPDATE 4/30/20: The Hilton Head Island community donated more than 3,300 pounds of products during the four days of the Sea Pines community collection.

Know of Flyers using their skills or passions to help during the pandemic? Email magazine@udayton.edu.