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USCB Nursing Honors Students Raise $1,345 for Hopeful Horizons

When Nursing Honors students at the University of South Carolina Beaufort were assigned a service- learning project this spring, Dr. Jo Kuehn, Assistant Professor of Nursing, asked them to address a health need of a vulnerable population. No one is more vulnerable than women and children who are victims of abuse, and the students decided that Beaufort-based advocacy, domestic violence and rape crisis center Hopeful Horizons would be the focus of their attention.

Dr. Kuehn asked her Nursing Honors Seminar IV students, who will graduate in 2024, to collaborate with their peers, faculty and community leaders to explore, assess and address a regional need. USCB specializes in experiential learning and connecting students with community organizations, and Hopeful Horizons was glad to have their input.

“I could see that they were sincerely interested in our mission and wanted to help,” said Rose Ewing, Community Educator, of Hopeful Horizons. “They came and visited our shelter, which most people don’t do.”

The nursing students were struck by the prevalence of domestic abuse and sexual assault among Lowcountry residents and through Rose Ewing, Hopeful Horizons Community Educator, learned how experiencing abuse puts people at risk for health care disparities, receiving poor health care and experiencing poor health outcomes. Last year, despite the pandemic, the organization trained 1,339 professionals about awareness of child abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence. During 2020, Hopeful Horizons educated 471 youth ages 6-18 about healthy relationships, teen dating violence, recognizing abusive behaviors, anger management and consent. Many of these efforts are coordinated in partnership with the 14th Circuit Victims Service Center, which serves Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties.

Kali Washick, the student nurse team lead of the service -learning project and her peers, brainstormed ideas about how they could help. Kali set up an online GoFundMe.com fundraiser. Another sophomore honor nursing student Adam Bessenger said, “We decided to do a kickball tournament to raise money for Hopeful Horizons. They help people in so many different ways, but to provide these services takes money.” In 2020, Hopeful Horizons provided a total of 5,363 nights of safety and assisted 29 women and their children in moving from the organization’s shelter to permanent housing.

The USCB students found that putting on a kickball tournament and the GoFundMe required publicity and to reach as many people as possible, they created and placed flyers around campus and in Bluffton and Beaufort, sent out emails and reached out to local businesses and family members. The kick-ball event required registration, set up, concessions, umpiring, take down and other tasks. In addition, they partnered with Evolve Nutrition in Beaufort, which created special drinks for the fundraiser in honor of Hopeful Horizons.

After weeks of hard work, the students raised a total of $1,345. At their final class session of the semester, students and Dr. Kuehn presented a large symbolic check to Rose Ewing on behalf of Hopeful Horizons. “I couldn’t believe they raised this much,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting this at all!”