Lowcountry Anchors

The homeless population in Beaufort is rising and becoming more evident in public places. The Lowcountry Anchors want to support those individuals and others in a way that is anonymous, where goods can be selected as needed. The project is simple. A Blessing Box is a miniature food and personal product pantry located outdoors. The goods are protected from the weather and accessible 24 hours a day via an unlocked door. Blessing Boxes are constructed to be chest-high for visibility and are stocked with non-perishable food as well as personal care products. The boxes are accessible to anyone with a need.

The Lowcountry Anchors will be creating a Blessing Box and placing it in a publicly accessible location in downtown Beaufort. The location is being investigated, but it may be in a park, parking lot, or church lot. Boxes are found nationally, but none are known to be in the Beaufort area.

The Beaufort Blessing Box will be stylized by an artist to make it inviting and intriguing. The artist will also indicate that this Blessing Box is sponsored by the Lowcountry Anchors of the Diversity Leaders Initiative.

The Lowcountry Anchors will stock the box initially and secure materials for restocking the box weekly. Area press will be invited to promote the box and its purpose to encourage others in the community to restock it. Lowcountry Anchors will establish a Beaufort Blessing Box Facebook page to promote the availability of the Blessing Box and to recruit donations. The team will share the news of the Blessing Box with churches, boy and girl scout troops, and civic clubs seeking groups to adopt the box in perpetuity. Lowcountry Anchors will also provide a suggested list of items that are needed, monitor what is taken, and update the list of suggested donations.

The goal of the Lowcountry Anchors is that this project will be adopted and copied by others, inspiring other installments in the community in the same way that small borrowing libraries have become popular.