It is always gratifying to see readers respond with generosity and compassion to the articles we publish in South Carolina Living. Allow me to share updates from three recent issues.
Our August 2013 cover feature profiled Teach for America (TFA), a nonprofit organization working to ensure all South Carolina children get a first-rate education.
TFA recruits outstanding college graduates, trains them to work as classroom teachers and places them in schools seeking to dramatically improve the educational outcomes of their students. Josh Bell, executive director for the South Carolina region, describes the organization as a “human capital pipeline” matching motivated young teachers to the schools that need them.
At the time of the article, TFA had 49 corps members teaching in six counties. Fast forward nine months, and TFA has placed 190 young teachers in 76 schools across 10 counties. Bell estimates that when school starts this fall, 225 corps members will be teaching in South Carolina classrooms.
These young educators are making a real difference in the lives of their students. My heartfelt thanks go out to every reader who responded to our article by supporting TFA in your local community and steering young graduates to apply for the corps.
The January 2014 issue included a feature on USO South Carolina’s work supporting military personnel and their families.
Director Joanie Thresher, programs manager Katie Kennedy and 136 dedicated volunteers serve more than 7,000 people a month at the USO Center in the Columbia Metropolitan Airport. They also help soldiers relax and unwind with hot meals, video games and other free recreational facilities at Fort Jackson’s Camp McCrady.
In response to the article, co-op members from across the state reached out to USO South Carolina with notes of encouragement, donations and offers to volunteer.
“I am touched by the work you are doing,” a member of Laurens Electric Cooperative wrote to Thresher.“ May God bless you richly for your love and support! ... You are a part of a wonderful mission."
'The legend of Roscoe Crosby: Part 2'
College football fans were intrigued by “The legend of Roscoe Crosby: Part 2,” our cover story in the November/December 2013 issue.
Growing up, Crosby excelled in baseball and football as a way to escape a troubled home life. By the time he graduated from Union High School in 2000, his skills as a running back earned him the prestigious “Mr. Football” award and status as one of the country’s top two college prospects. When he signed on to play football at Clemson while also earning a $1.7 million signing bonus to play professional baseball part-time, Crosby looked like he had it made.
After a promising freshman season at Clemson, Crosby experienced a series of personal tragedies and off-season injuries that brought his college football days and his pro baseball career to an end. After extensive physical rehabilitation, Crosby signed on with the Indianapolis Colts in 2005 but soon realized his life needed a new direction, one free of the distractions found in professional athletics. He found new purpose working as a counselor at AMIKids White Pines, a wilderness camp for at-risk teens in Jonesville, and now his story has an inspiring Part 3.
Through our article, Crosby’s work came to the attention of the running backs coach who helped recruit him to Clemson in 2000—Dabo Swinney, now head coach of the Tigers. Today, Roscoe Crosby is back on the Clemson sidelines as a student-coach, earning his degree and counseling athletes.
“I’m still a competitor,” Crosby told Fox Carolina. “I’m still trying to win, but my game that I play now is the game of life.”
Tell us your story
These are just some of the examples of the co-op family in action, and they demonstrate how we can all help write the story of a better South Carolina. If you know co-op members who are making a difference in your community, tell us about it at letters@scliving.coop.