It’s hot. August in the Lowcountry is not for the faint of heart. Five minutes outside will test your wicking, steal your breath, and perm your hair.
But, by and large, Lowcountrians are not faint of heart. So when the second hottest month of the year rolls in behind the first hottest month of the year, natives and “new locals” alike square their shoulders in defiance of an oppressive climate. It’s an “I survived July, so come at me, August.” A turning the other cheek. A double dog dare.
It’s just this kind of spirit we find time and again in our corporate partners. Not only are they game for social impact events in the late summer heat, but they stand against the notion that tangible glimmers of joy can’t be found in painful experiences. They are as hopeful as they are hardy.
In just the first two weeks of this month, KLH Group guided two clubhouse build events for a half dozen children.
The first took place on Thursday, August 6 at Berkeley Electric Cooperative. The father of one-year old Neuroblastoma patient Beckham Grooms works at the Moncks Corner co-op, and his colleagues mobilized at the mention of a build event for young Beckham and his big sister, Rayleigh.
Rather than take the effort off-site, the leadership team accepted KLH’s offer to bring the event right to headquarters - an option that is available to all of our business partners. After just two hours of hard work and handcraft, the clubhouse that Beckham would share with his sister (or was it the other way around?) was move-in ready.
On Friday, August 14, KLH and another amazing corporate client headed to coastal Georgia to construct four more clubhouses, each for a child needing – and deserving – a special space. After 25 weeks of chemo and radiation, three year-old Elizabeth Davidson “rang the bell,” signaling the success of her treatment against Nephroblastoma. Since earlier this summer, four year-old Owen Wise has been enduring radiation therapy to shrink the Wilm’s Tumor in his abdomen. For three years, Chase Busby – now an energetic, healthy eight year-old – battled Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia by way of chemotherapy. Brandon Robinson completed five rounds of chemotherapy to beat Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and celebrated his eighth birthday – along with fellow August 14 birthday buddy Owen – on the very day of the clubhouse build.
Click Above for Video and make sure its in 720HD view
Even during the dog days of summer, there is little heaviness felt when our clubhouse crews move lumber, knock nails, and swipe paint. And there is downright levity when the ribbon across that child-size doorway is snipped by little hands wielding scissors.
Shirts may cling and hair might curl, but August is no time to take a breather around here. Not when kids are counting on us.
