The Post & Courier by Jessica Wade
HILTON HEAD ISLAND — Support for a reading enrichment program, funds for food-insecure elementary students, tuition assistance, home repairs on Hilton Head, career training and medical care. Board members of the Wexford Foundation listed the dozens of charitable missions the group’s more than $400,000 in donations will help fund.
The 39 charities awarded during the Foundation’s annual luncheon Feb. 13 were the highest number of recipients in Wexford’s 12 years of giving.
“It seems like year in and year out the needs in the community grow,” said Wexford Foundation Chairman Fred Noonan following the luncheon held in the Wexford Clubhouse.
The Wexford Foundation is based in Wexford, a private waterfront community on Hilton Head Island. It was established in 2012 with the goal of supporting local health, housing, hunger and educational charities with financial resources.
“When we give that money, it enables these local charities to do what they do best. We collect money, we have a mission and we try to push the money in a direction where it will do the most good,” Noonan said.
Wexford Foundation also receives funding from three business partners: South State Bank, Howell-Chase Heating & Air and Island Environments. Those dollars are used to cover the foundation’s operating costs, meaning all other donations go directly to local charities, said Kathy Alexander, the group’s communications chair.
Beyond the annual luncheon, the nonprofit disperses major impact grants throughout the year.
Recent grant recipient Second Helpings rolled up to the luncheon in a new refrigerated van paid for by a $65,000 Wexford grant. The organization takes food from supermarkets and restaurants, then redistributes it to those in need throughout Hilton Head and surrounding communities.
The van has been in operation for about a month. It will likely travel about 1,000 miles a week all across the community, said Marcus Tanner, executive director of Second Helpings.
“This has completely changed the way we’re able to work,” Tanner said.
Including an additional major impact grant planned for midyear, the Wexford Foundation will have awarded close to $3 million since its inception.
“I always try to close with a meaningful statement — I couldn’t find any,” Noonan said in his closing remarks, prompting laughs from attendees. “However, I found a couple things that I thought were pretty interesting and provocative in terms of the concept on generosity.”
He shared quotes from Pablo Picasso and Mark Twain, ending with one from Maya Angelou: “I’ve found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.”
