Author: byfarr

It was a beautiful day on Sunday when the North Columbia community came together for the 5th annual Empowerment for Peace Walk. More than 100 volunteers and law enforcement came to Earlewood Park to honor those who were taken by gun violence. Those who attended included organizations like Moms Demand Action, Path 2 Redemption, Prisma and the Columbia Elite Raiders. From Earlewood Park, we walked to Hyatt Park, stopping at historic Lincoln Park. The Peace Walk started in 2020 as a shared response to tragedy in the area. Now, the walk has bloomed into a vision for hope and has grown every year since then. This mission for peace began with the youth in North Columbia leading the way, which continued this year after the unveiling of a banner that was designed with their input. During the opening ceremony, several community members read poetry and gave prayers for peace. Once the program started, our very own Tonya Williams told the history of the walk, dating back to 2020 as a way to bring people together after violence in North Columbia. Both Chief Skip Holbrook of Columbia Police Department and Sheriff Leon Lott of Richland County Sheriff’s Department also joined the push for peace, especially when it comes to gun violence and the younger generations. At a pit stop during the walk, Jessica Myers with Moms Demand Action spoke about her son’s case and the continued search for his killers. Those walking gathered around to hear her story. In addition to hearing Jessica’s story, several children led prayers for peace and Holli McEachern with Path 2 Redemption spoke about their work. Once the group reached Hyatt Park, those on the walk could visit a local resource fair or grab hotdogs and hamburgers to recharge. The rest of the evening saw kids playing games and families reconnecting, a heartwarming way to end this year’s peace walk. Thank you to Prisma Health Mobile Unit, Richland County Democratic Party, Humana, Goodwill and the SC Department of Mental Health for joining as vendors. We are so thankful for the support of the City of Columbia, Columbia Parks and Recreation, Richland County Sheriff’s Department and Columbia Police Department. And, thank you Revolution Red for sponsoring snacks and waters at the pit stop and for Dave and Busters for providing hamburgers.

In addition to local assistance, this project was supported by a grant awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The BJA is a part of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Program.

Beach balls, music, and smiling faces, that was the scene for the Annual Greg’s Groceries Packing Event and Award Ceremony. After the previous statewide packing event was rescheduled due to Hurricane Helene, partners from around the state came together to pack 2,000 Greg’s Groceries boxes. We want to give a special thank you to the amazing support from our presenting sponsor, Walmart, along with Founders Federal Credit Union, Sounds & Images and Crisp for their support. And, we can’t thank the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy and Director Jackie Swindler enough for hosting the more than 250 partners and volunteers who made this packing possible. We also want to recognize our legislative partners, State Representative Beth Bernstein and State Senator Brian Adams, for their work to ensure funding from the state’s budget. Funding will make it possible for us to expand support to police agencies across South Carolina. During the event, we also highlighted achievements made by small, medium and large agencies.

• Small agency of the year went to Roxboro Police Department, one of our first North Carolina partners.
• Medium agency of the year went to Camden Police Department.
• Large agency of the year went to Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.
• Corporal Carmen Yerkes, of Abbeville Police Department, received small agency officer of the year award.
• Sergeant Kenyatta Jenkins, of Orangeburg Department of Public Safety, received medium agency officer of the year award.
• And Private First Class Zach Seppi, of Myrtle Beach Police Department, received the large agency officer of the year award. On every Greg’s Groceries box, there is a QR code to track data from law enforcement officers. According to the collected data, 99 percent of officers either agree or strongly agree that the delivery of a box resulted in a meaningful interaction with a member of the community.

Every single box was packed with love and care to go back to someone in need. Since launching in 2017, Serve & Connect has packed more than 25,000 boxes with law enforcement.

Greg Groceries Packing Event Photos

Kassy was invited to be a keynote speaker at this year’s International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference in Boston, MA! Kassy presented on “Actionable Guidance for Establishing a Comprehensive Community Policing Model Within Your Agency“. We are so proud of Kassy and were honored to be a part of this year’s IACP conference! We can’t wait for next year.

In light of the devastation caused from Hurricane Helene, Serve & Connect hosted a disaster relief packing event to lend support to our Western North Carolina communities. Thanks to the incredible support from Walmart, we were able to pack 3,000 disaster relief food boxes and 1,000 hygiene kits which were distributed across the most impacted areas in the Carolinas. Every single one of these boxes was hand-packed with love by our community volunteers and local law enforcement. We couldn’t be more grateful for their help with this monumental event.

Reach out to Olivia Countess, our Community Outreach Coordinator, to learn more: kim@serveandconnect.org.

We had a blast at last week’s end of summer block party with the North Columbia Youth Empowerment Initiative! It was so wonderful seeing the community come together in celebration. A special thank you the City of Columbia, Columbia Police Department, Richland County Sheriff’s Department, Absolute Total Care, and Booker Washington Heights Neighborhood for their incredible support

Serve & Connect was pleased to be featured in the September 2024 issue of Columbia Metropolitan Magazine. Read the article here.

Thanks to a grant graciously given by the Central Carolina Community Foundation, Sí Se Puede can now offer one year of Spanish language courses for first responders, for free!

Up to ten first responders serving the Richland and Lexington counties will be selected via application to receive Spanish language training in order to better serve community members who only speak Spanish.

Applications are due by August 30, 2024. Any first responder (police, EMS, fire, dispatch, victims advocates) actively serving full-time in Richland and/or Lexington county are eligible to apply. Courses will be available through Babble and can be completed at your own pace. Participants must be willing to complete at least one class every two weeks. They must also be willing to provide feedback on their experience.

Application Instructions:

Applications may be completed electronically and emailed to info@serveandconnect.org or mailed to

Serve & Connect

8131 Brookfield Rd

Columbia, SC 29223

Applications should include the following:

Applicant Name, Organization, Position, and contact information

A letter from the applicant describing why they want to pursue language training and stating their commitment to completing the course within a year

A letter of support from the applicant’s agency head

Contact information for the applicant’s supervisor

Questions may be directed to Jue Mclemore: jue@serveandconnect.org or (803) 597-3154 ext. 700.

Sí Se Puede was created by a diverse and dedicated group of partners to create trust and relationships between our vibrant Hispanic community and first responders. We do this by creating collaboration and connection to break down barriers of distrust and promote safety, wellness, and support from the community and local law enforcement.

Serve & Connect has been collecting money to donate to Corporal Lucas Watts and his family after he was injured in a shooting last November.

Click here to read the article.

Serve & Connect’s Greg’s Groceries packed dry food, donated by Walmart, to feed those in need in Kershaw County.

Click here to read the article.