Five local organizations to

benefit from fundraising efforts

SUNSET — The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s Charitable Foundation announced recently that its 2015 giving totaled $110,000, nearly doubling the nine-year-old program’s record for a single year. The funds, raised throughout 2015 and presented during a ceremony Tuesday evening at The Reserve, are being shared by a quintet of local organizations who each received $22,000.

The group includes Pickens Senior Center, Safe Harbor, Pickens County Meals on Wheels, Feed a Hungry Child and Helping Hands of Clemson.

“The recipient organizations are each thoroughly deserving and have an excellent track record of community assistance and improvement,” said Cathy Washburn, the first-year executive director of The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s Community and Charitable Foundation. “This funding will have direct and tangible impact in Pickens County.”

The annual contribution was made possible by proceeds from the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corp., The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s 2015 Charity Golf Classic and Auction and The Reserve’s Swine and Dine culinary event and fundraiser.

“The Reserve at Lake Keowee community and staff support the Foundation’s goal of giving back to our Pickens community each year,” Washburn said. “It is through their diligent efforts, as well as the fantastic support of our sponsors, that our financial contribution to local organizations continues to grow.”

Since the charitable foundation’s inception in 2006, The Reserve at Lake Keowee has raised and distributed nearly $400,000 to support the Pickens community. In addition to financial support, Reserve community members volunteer hundreds of hours annually with various organizations.

The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s annual Charity Golf Classic and auction, which celebrated its seventh anniversary in 2015, is a primary fundraising tool for the charitable foundation. The event raised more than $80,000 this year. Organizations can register as early as July to play in the next Charity Golf Classic scheduled for Oct. 24, 2016. Sponsorship opportunities are also available.

The Charitable Foundation, part of The Reserve at Lake Keowee’s Community Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to funding outreach and charitable giving in the community. Members of The Reserve annually select local charitable organizations for the foundation to support.