Archive for year: 2023

Poverty is a reality for many individuals and families. But unless you’ve experienced poverty, it’s difficult to truly understand. The Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) bridges that gap from misconception to understanding. CAPS is an interactive immersion experience. It sensitizes community participants to the realities of poverty.

CAPS is not a game. It is based on real Community Action clients and their lives. The Community Action Poverty Simulation helps participants rethink the challenges that millions of low-income individuals face each and every day.

Join colleagues and community members in this interactive immersion experience on November 1st, 2023 from 9:15 am through 12:30 pm at the Main Lobby of

FMU Performing Arts Center, 201 S Dargan St, Florence. Click below for registration or for more program information click this link https://www.povertysimulation.net/about/

For registration information, click here.

On Saturday, October 14th, there will be a walk in Downtown Florence for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The walk will feature a costume contest, so participants are encouraged dress to impress as their favorite Barbie or Ken doll.

Barbie & Ken Breast Cancer Walk Registration will take place at the DHEC Complex located at 145 E Cheves St beginning at 7:30 AM.  Prayer and Warm Up at 8:30 AM and the walk will begin at 9:00 AM.

All proceeds from this event will benefit Mcleod Medical Center Foundation Let’s unite, create awareness, and show our love for those affected by this disease. Together, we’re stronger!

For more information, click here.

Thursday, October 12, is a very special day for the Florence and the Pee Dee as it celebrates the Grand Reopening of one of the areas oldest nonprofits, Pee Dee Hearing Center.  The City of Florence passed a resolution naming October 12 Pee Dee Hearing Center Day!    Founded in 1968 by a group of concerned citizens who recognized  a need in our community for services for the speech and hearing impaired, the Center provides reduced rate services and hearing aids for  clients from every walk of life.  We want to be able to reach more people in need of treatment for their hearing loss as our population grows and changes by increasing our ability to provide low cost hearing aids.

Formerly Pee Dee Speech & Hearing Center, the practice’s mission is to empower the lives of people who struggle with all degrees of hearing challenges. Hearing loss is a prevelant condition throughout the community and is becoming even more common in younger generations as our environment grows noisier.  The proliferation of electronic media, sound systems, lawn and garden equipment, and a host of other noise pollutants is causing irreversible hearing loss across the generations. Hearing loss of all degrees affects people’s ability to navigate their relationships at home, in the marriages, at work, at school, and at play. When people treat their hearing loss, their relationships tend to improve in all these areas.   We see educating people about the risks of noise pollution and ways to prevent noise induced hearing loss as a significant part of our job.

Join us on Thursday, October 12th from 4:30 – 6:30 pm at 153 N B Barrody St in Florence.  Please RSVP to peedeehearingandspeech@gmail.com ASAP.

If you own or manage a business in the Greater Florence or Pee Dee area the Florence Chamber encourages you to offer your input into the Palmetto Business Barometer for October. The Palmetto Business Barometer, is a collaboration between the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.

It’s important to know what conditions employers are facing, so employers, other businesses, and the public are well-informed about our state’s economy and workforce. Rest assured that your individual responses will be confidential; we only ask for your email address, so we may send the survey to you in future months and can connect responses together between months to identify trends. This survey will only take 2-3 minutes each month and will produce information to help us better serve you and your business.

To participate in the survey, click here.

MUSC Health Black River Medical Center would like to announce the first recipient of the DAISY award. The DAISY award is given to a nurse whose job performance exemplifies the mission, vision and values of MUSC Health. The recipient must also keep a consistent focus on meeting patient-family goals, collaborate with the healthcare team to meet patients’ needs, use critical thinking to deliver extraordinary patient care, and demonstrate a caring attitude, as well as professionalism in the workplace during all situations, according to the hospital announcement.

MUSC Health Black River Medical Center recently named Justice Hickman, a registered nurse in the Emergency Department, as the recipient of the DAISY Award for nursing.

She was nominated by a parent whose son was treated for a broken wrist. “Justice was an outstanding nurse who treated my child with a truly caring attitude. She talked to me and gave me mom-to-mom advice. She is a true example of what a mom expects in a nurse caring for her child. We are true believers in prayer, and on her way out from her shift, she checked in on us and commented that she would be praying for my son. That meant more than a thousand words to my mom heart!”

To read the full press release, click here.