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A night of magic – that is the best way to describe our 10th annual Illuminight Gala. It was a night of connection and unity as we honor our police and community partners and the work they do to keep our communities safe.

Our guest speakers this year were Deputy Chief of Los Angeles Police Department Emada Tingirides and South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette.

Thank you to Deputy Chief of Los Angeles Police Department Emada Tingirides for making the trip across the country to speak to our partners. Her background includes being named the Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine as well as one of Los Angeles’ Most Influential Women by Los Angeles Magazine in 2015. Her message of the importance of community policing is extremely meaningful for our mission.

We want to thank South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette for attending Illuminight. Pamela Evette is the 93rd Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina and the first female Republican lieutenant governor. She has also worked to bring awareness to state nonprofits and the impact they have in our local communities. We are so thankful for her support of our mission.

We’d like to thank our generous sponsors, including The City of Forest Acres, Jim Hudson Automotive Group, Richland County, Dunbar Funeral Home, Julie & Mike Brenan, Walmart, MUSC Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, Southeastern Freight Lines, Duke Energy and Founders Federal Credit Union.

In addition to our sponsors, we would like to thank our in-kind donors, including ByFarr Design House, Loosh Culinaire Fine Catering, Bottles Beverage Superstore, Party Reflections Special Event Rentals, American Floral, Sound & Images, Black Tie Bartending, Sun Solutions, Ambient Media, Josh Cellar and Jac2 Photo.

We are honored to celebrate our Community Champion Award recipient, the West Columbia Law Enforcement Assisted Deflection (LEAD) program, specifically to West Columbia Police Chief Marion Boyce and Rhonda Dinovo from the University of South Carolina’s College of Social Work. We want to recognize the LEAD team’s consistent leadership in policing and dedication to community service. The team works with the West Columbia Police Department and the SC Department of Mental Health as a community-based alternative to prosecution. Since launching the program, there have been 1135 client contacts and 275 officer consults.

We are thrilled to announce Sgt. Mary Frantz of the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office as our Greg Alia Award recipient. She is described as going above and beyond to serve her community. Sgt. Frantz is credited as playing a key role in establishing Neighborhood Watches across Aiken County, bringing Greg’s Groceries to the area and working with community stakeholders to strengthen partnerships and support.

We are proud to celebrate Seneca Police Department as our Agency Community Leadership Award recipient. The department has been chosen for its dedication to building relationships with the community through a variety of programs and initiatives. Those initiatives include Neighborhood Block Parties, Popsicle Programs to connect with younger generations and their Reunite program to connect individuals facing homelessness to their families or resources.

Some honorable mentions we would like to recognize include:

Lieutenant Matt Parks of Mount Pleasant Police Department has a passion for helping people in need. In his 22 years at the department, he has worked to assist those suffering from substance abuse, taking calls at all hours of the day and night to help those in need. We want to recognize his deep care for others and his devotion to victims of substance abuse, treating them with dignity and respect as he works to restore their lives.

Officer Joseph Siroata of the Columbia Police Department exemplifies the spirit of leadership, compassion and dedication.What stands out about Officer Siroata is the genuine warmth and friendliness that he brings while on duty. Whether it’s sharing a big smile with local residents at an assisted living residence or at a local community center where he greets each child with a wave or a fist bump, Officer Sirota is noted for having a unique ability to make everyone feel valued and safe.

Officer Scott Danback of the Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office is recognized for his unwavering commitment to community engagement and service. He is consistently going above and beyond the call of duty to serve and support both victims of crime and the public. One of the most remarkable aspects of Officer Danbeck’s approach to policing is his innovative use of his K-9 partner, Matteo, to provide emotional comfort to victims and the community.

Thank you once again to our sponsors, speakers and partners for making this magical night possible. We can’t wait to see you at our next event!

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.