Showing Their Gratitude
Some cards are in a child’s scrawl, complete with stickers: “You are a blessing. Love, Braylon.”
Others are written in flowing penmanship: “We want you to know just how much we appreciate all your hard work and dedication to such a difficult job! We lift you up in prayer each day to keep you safe through this horrible virus. We are all so very proud of everything you do. Love, Betty Mcculley.”
All of them—1,861 thankyou notes in total—have one thing in common: They were written from the heart by the people of Pawleys Island, South Carolina, to healthcare professionals working around the clock during the scariest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. “There’s a lot of love in those cards,” says Jim Coggin, a leader at Pawleys Island Community Church.
When he organized the card drive seven months ago, Coggin already knew that local residents appreciated the employees of Tidelands Health, a medical group that staffs four hospitals in the area. He set a basket outside the church to collect the notes and had ambitiously expected to receive 800 cards. Within just days, the basket was beyond full.
“It was overwhelming,” says Amy Stevens, Tidelands’ vice president, after Coggin and a few others dropped off the cards. “I just sat in my office and cried looking at the cards. I really did.”
The church members are some of the 100 or so yearround residents of Pawleys Island, a barrier island about 25 miles south of Myrtle Beach. In spots, the charming sliver of land is just one house wide. In the summer, some 5,500 tourists arrive. But this past July, that population surge resulted in a 1,700 percent increase in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. First responders of all types were overwhelmed.
So the church stepped up to help once again. They reached into their coffers and had lunches delivered to the local hospitals, as well as to the police, the fire department, and the local Coast Guard station.
“We want to serve those who serve us,” says Pastor Don Williams, whose parishioners kept the meals—and the prayers—coming, for weeks.
Around the time of these acts of mercy, anger over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers erupted. Georgetown County sheriff Carter Weaver, whose
jurisdiction includes Pawleys Island, decided to write a note denouncing the police officers’ actions. He shared it with his staff, then posted it on Facebook. “I will not sit back and remain silent,” it began.
Shortly after that, Weaver got a call from Eileen Carter, a sophomore at Waccamaw High School in Pawleys Island. Carter, 15, had gone to a racial-justice march in Myrtle Beach and was inspired to bring the movement home. She wanted to organize a peaceful protest.
“I think it’s important for people to speak about things in a peaceful way,” Carter explained. Weaver agreed. She put out a call to march on social media, and approximately 100 people answered her. They walked about a mile, from the Dollar General to the Speedway convenience store and back, while carrying signs of support and protest. One of those who marched was Sheriff Weaver. “You couldn’t help but want to be a part of what she was doing,” he says.
The active partnership with the police and the people of Pawleys Island didn’t end that day. A planned Youth Advisory Board will offer people like Carter a forum to speak up. The county’s Citizens Use of Force review panel will look at files, body- and car-camera footage, statements, and other recorded evidence anytime officers use force in the line of duty.
“I think it’s important for transparency,” says Weaver. “My biggest stance is that law enforcement talks too much. We just do. And we don’t listen. And that’s what we have been trying to do since this has happened. Eileen was a huge kick starter in that process.”