Our Community Was the Big Winner with Extreme Canned Food Drive.
With the announcement on January 20 that the Extreme Canned Food Drive had actually exceeded its goal to collect 100 tons of food, an extraordinary moment of celebration, pride and gratitude was shared by thousands throughout Horry County. Our final weigh in is 200,736 lbs = 100.37 tons!
Held in conjunction with the Extreme Makeover Home Edition build, this monumental project to restock area food pantries received overwhelming support from folks in every part of our community. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all those that stepped up to help make this one of the truly remarkable charitable events of the year. Some 170,000 meals are the result of your efforts.
On behalf of United Way of Horry County, I'd like to extend special thanks to all our partners, which include Sterling Homes, Horry County Government, Wal-Mart, Transport Police, emediagroup coastal, Mike Jones, Low Country Food Bank, and LHWH Advertising & Public Relations.
This drive would not have been possible without the help of so many businesses that served as drop-off points or held food drives within their organizations. These include: American Cancer Society; Bank of America; Barefoot Community Church; Barefoot Landing; Barefoot Resort & Golf; Beach First National Bank; Belk-Coastal Grand Mall; Best Buy; Best Buy Mobile at Coastal Grand Mall; Big Deals Carolina Forest Flea Market; Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina; Bridgewater Academy; Brittain Resort Management Company: Bay View Resort, Beach Vacations/Myrtlewood Villas, Breakers Resort, Caribbean Resort & Villas, Compass Cove Resort, Dunes Village Resort, Long Bay Resort, Paradise Resort, Ocean Reef Resort, Sea Captain's House Restaurant; Broadway at the Beach; Burroughs & Chapin Company; C.B. Berry Community Center; Carolina Forest Community Church; Carolina Forest High School; Carolina Forest Rental Properties; Carolina Regional Cancer Center; Carolinas PGA Section; Christ United Methodist Church; City of North Myrtle Beach; Conway Chamber of Commerce; Conway Christian School; Conway Elementary; The Crepe Myrtle; Celebration Presbyterian Church in Carolina Forest; Daisy Elementary; Dillards; Divine Dining Group: River City Cafés, Ultimate California Pizzas, Bubba's Fish Shack, Divine Fish House, Divine Prime, Roy & Sid's American Kitchen; Enterprise Rental Car; FSA, Full Steam Ahead; Fairfield Inn at Broadway at the Beach; First Palmetto Savings Bank; First United Methodist Church in Myrtle Beach; Food Lion Store - Hwy 501 Conway; Forestbrook Elementary and Middle School; Goodwill Industries; Goldfinch Funeral Home - all locations; Gordon Biersch at the Market Common; Grand Shores; Grand Strand Virginia Tech Alumni Association; Growing Tree at First Presbyterian Church (FPC); Habitat for Humanity; The Horizon at 77th; Horry County Government; Horry County Solid Waste Authority; Horry Electric Cooperative; Horry's Restaurant; IMAX Theater; Indigo Creek Golf Club & Island Green Golf Club; Liberty Tax Services at the Gator Hole and Galleria; The Jackson Companies; KA Diehl & Associates; Kingston Plantation; Logan's Roadhouse Restaurant; Long Bay Symphony; Little River Chamber of Commerce; Loris Chamber of Commerce; Loris Elementary, Middle and High School; Lowes Food in Myrtle Beach; Lowes Home Improvement Stores - all Horry County; Metglas, Inc.; Milliken's Hidden Reef; Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce; Myrtle Beach Indoor Flea Market; Myrtle Beach International Airport TSA; Myrtle Beach Mall; North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce; North Myrtle Beach Christian School; North Myrtle Beach Schools (Primary, Elementary, Middle, High); North Strand Optimist Club; Nexsen Pruet at Market Common; Oasis Trading Post; Ocean Lakes Family Campground; Olivia Beauty Salon; Peoples Underwriters; Plantation Storage in Carolina Forest; The Reserve Golf Club of Pawleys Island; Rotary Club of Little River; Rotary Club of North Myrtle Beach; Salvation Army; Sandhills Banks; Sam's Club; SeaGlass Tower Resort; SeaSide; South Atlantic Bank; South Conway Elementary; Sparks Toyota; Steeplechase Development; Strand Development Company: Hampton Inn at Broadway at the Beach, Hampton Inn at North Myrtle Beach, Hampton Inn at Northwood, Super 8 at Market Common, Quality Inn at the University; Strand Storage Center - Horry County; SUNHOUSE Hwy 378 (Formerly G&B Discount); Swash Park Ministries; T.G.I Friday's in N. Myrtle beach, Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet; The Sun News; Tidelands Bank; Tidewater Development; Trinity Episcopal Church in Myrtle Beach; Towers on the Grove; Vista Resort; Waccamaw Bank of Little River; Waccamaw Bowling Center; Waccamaw Middle School; Wal-Mart; Walgreens - all Horry County Stores; The Wellness Center at Conway Medical Center; Wells Fargo Advisors; and Windjammer Village.
We are most grateful for the companies that donated bulk food items to the food drive, including DeBordieu Country Club; Food Services Inc.; Lance Incorporated; Outback Steakhouse in North Myrtle Beach; PBV of Conway, SC; Target; Sysco and Wal-Mart.
To all the various media outlets that serve Horry County, we also owe a huge round of applause for the exceptional news coverage provided throughout the event.
Our United Way organization is all about working together in our community to improve people's lives. To LIVE UNITED means going the extra mile, giving a little more than expected, and feeling good about working for the common good. The Extreme Canned Food Drive is the perfect example of how together, united, we can inspire hope and create such remarkable opportunities for a better tomorrow.
Sincerely,
David DuRant
President of the Board of Directors for United Way of Horry County
Vice President for Prestwick Country Club
