Community Home Improvement Project of Johns Island Presbyterian Church
CHIP is a Christian ministry that reaches out to Sea Island neighbors whose homes have been damaged or are substandard. The project organizes volunteer labor to do repairs and upgrades using donations of money, materials, furniture, and appliances to create a safe, secure, and habitable home. Our goal is to promote new relationships of trust and openness between donors, volunteers, and recipients. Read about the development of the program.
CHIP is always looking to add to its list of volunteers. Men, women, and youth can be project managers or assistants, workers, deliver materials, provide snacks, or deliver snacks to the jobsite. You may have already received emails about these and signed up online, or you may call Deb Rowland or Michael Orris to volunteer.
Our primary goal is helping our neighbors in need as we raise our awareness of the plight of those dwelling in substandard living conditions. There is a job for everyone who wants to become involved. We’ve been blessed with incredible support from our congregation, other church members, business donations, and charitable groups who recognize the need in our community, and are grateful of the opportunity to sustain and grow our ministry largely through unsolicited funds and donations. The CHIP ministry needs many more volunteers.
Our work can vary from a minor plumbing repair to a structural issue. CHIP began with donations from our congregation in 2015 after the devastating floods, now partnering with Presbytery USA, other churches, mission groups, and organizations such as Kiawah Cares. We are grateful for this help, but primarily remain a shoestring operation with only a handful of dedicated volunteers. There is a lot more need than we can provide. Other local organizations have heard about what we do and refer those who need help to us. Ultimately, we have to prioritize the requests, doing the work we are capable of for people in need, usually the elderly or where children are involved. Volunteer opportunities: supervising a job, doing actual repairs, painting, etc., as well as recruiting others to join us in our efforts. Tax deductible donations are also appreciated, such as appliances, furniture, and linens which need to be replaced in homes with water damage. If you would like to make an impact in your local community, consider becoming a part of this valuable work.
Contact Information:
JOHNS ISLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CHIP MINISTRY
2550 BOHICKET ROAD
JOHNS ISLAND SC 29455
(843) 203-6592
chipministry@jipc.org
CHIP is a ministry of Johns Island Presbyterian Church. Volunteers from other churches and the community generously work with CHIP.
History of CHIP
Many South Carolina areas experienced massive thousand-year flooding in 2015. As a result of the Federally declared natural disaster, a few Johns Island Presbyterian Church congregation members became involved repairing substandard homes damaged by water. Projects were chosen, contributions solicited, and volunteers recruited. We’ve repaired many substandard homes and delivered appliances, beds, and furnishings to countless others.
In 2015, the session of Johns Island Presbyterian Church approved this ministry to become a permanent part of the church’s outreach to the communities of Johns and Wadmalaw Island, including portions of the area of Red Top. The project has been supported by many in the community and half of the volunteers are not involved with the Presbyterian church. Each year we host mission groups and have had more than 20 different groups with more than 250 volunteers of mostly high school and college aged individuals. Many of the mission groups return each year as they have come to recognize the significant need in our community. We typically have upwards of 50 families in need of home improvements on our list of projects. Due to the limited number of volunteers and project managers we typically only accomplish around a dozen completed family projects in a given year. The CHIP ministry usually supplies all the materials and most of the tools for those groups. We have established many strong relationships and received amazing support from generous donors.