Community Services/Non-Profits in Columbia, SC

“I rode pass Columbia Mall this morning and Harvest Hope was out distributing food, and I was so pleased. They was very friendly me and my grandkids Truly appreciate all that they do. Thanks Harvest Hope and Richland County ❤️❤️?”

“On May 1st 2023 I donated blood at Chapin Presbyterian Church. Vontrell Murray greeted me with a great smile and treated me incredibly professionally and personally. He stayed with me and did a great job and is to be wonderfully commended. Thank you, Vontrell!!”

“My experience was great! Get a voucher from up the street. In order to save even more money.. with a voucher.. neuter dog over 50 pounds, heart worm test, rabies, distemper, e collar/ cone. Medicine for pain. Medical waste fee.( But also very very friendly people) $140 totalI feel like this type of place is essential to this state!”

“If you haven't experienced Foodshare yet, it's time you do it this year. For anyone who has SNAP benefits, and want to eat healthy. This is definitely the place you need to visit.”

“Super clean facility. The staff is extremely nice as expected for a YMCA. The gym is state of the art the coolest treadmills I’ve ever used. I love coming to this gym when I visit family would recommend to everyone no matter if you’re young or old the YMCA in this town has got it all.”

“The facility is very clean and the personnel are helpful and polite. The equipment is new and even at a busy time in the morning there is more than enough equipment and space to work out without compromise.”

“Absolutely an amazing organization! The look exhibit is such a fantastic way to share the unique abilities, talents, and strength of children in our community! Thank you so much for all of the different programs supports an opportunity is that you provide for youth and family around the state!”

“The SCTA is a great organization that supports the SC Troopers at every level. The staff at the SCTA are friendly and courteous. The SCTA store has a lot of unique items that cannot be bought elsewhere”

“I am currently staying at HNM and my 30 days will be up in a little less than a week. At HNM Ms. Anderson has been a BLESSING. When you come to the family shelter they tell you up front that they have LIMITED resources. My fiancé, my daughter and I came and were immediately helped. Ms. Anderson made sure we had everything we needed when we got here and made sure we were settled in before she left for the day. We get 2 meals a day and it’s more than enough. They don’t serve lunch, but there are programs around Columbia that will feed you if you look. They can only help if you want helped. My fiancé and I, in the 30 days of staying here have secured jobs, and a home to go to after leaving because we were able to rely on HNM to help us with food and shelter to save money to work towards helping us get out of being homeless. Would give 100 stars if I could. HNM helped my family gain independence and stability. Ms. Anderson is helping get supplies to help us when we move so we have the items we need to be comfortable at our new home. We owe all our thanks to her. And she will always be a big part of our story.”

“CMFA venue was a great location for the play, small but intimate spot. Great parking, nice decor and very clean. Great place to host an event if needed.This was a hidden spot that I attended the play "Black Girl Therapy" at last night. The play was amazing, job well done! We laughed and sand the evening away. If you havent seen it, do yourself a favor and go support them. They are black owned and operated out of Atlanta. Founded in 2018, Elevating Voices, LLC set out to bridge the gap between information and entertainment. Their goal is to start conversations to close the gap that has been filled with misconceptions and stereotypes.Check out Trefloyd.com for more info on upcoming plays.I highly recommend all to go see and support this talented production company! Also buy the book. I cant wait to read it.”

“It is a blessing meeting alli the sweet manager she is so caring and goes above and beyond i also need to additionally say that the beautiful lady who works in job connects is so kind and goes above and beyond to help anyone i want to say thank you for making a huge difference for our family and i appreciated the warm welcoming i recieved dakota truly brings light to the goodwill if u have really good staff like these 2 lovely ladies its a blessing and will bring more business to your company please give recognition to Dakota Campbell and manager Allithank you again i recommend going here for employment they are genuine if you are open to sharing information choose Dakotaand. Alli the managerthanks for helping me with jobs your the best sending hugs”

“I just stayed there one night for the heck of it to see what it was all about and might go and do it again and possibly for longer this time around so as to explore the city on the cheap (but not in the winter time, the beds are too valuable at that time of year for someone who doesn't strictly need to be there.) With that being said, it's really no big deal, there's about a half hour block of time where you watch a sermon on Youtube right around dinner time. Lighters, pocket knives, cigarettes, etc. have to be placed inside a plastic container with everyone else's items of the same nature but they let you smoke outside a time or two a day. I had to throw away my water bottles before entering even though I was told that drinks in a sealed container are okay. <-- Not that big of a deal but kind of annoying. However, they give you a water bottle almost as soon as you're inside. I had some anxiety at first because I thought I would be almost literally locked inside at night once they cut the lights out, but after asking at the front desk, the guy told me that if my anxiety issues are severe enough I have to bail, I can do that and that the doors are not actually locked. Front desk is manned at all times to monitor and make sure no one comes and goes for no good reason however..... The environment isn't as strict or tense as you would imagine it to be. For example, if you have to get up to use the bathroom, there is some ambient/street light coming in from the window so you can see to move around and one guy used the light on his phone a little bit and no one got tee'd off or anything. There is some noise now and then throughout the night from people going to and from the restroom and going downstairs to get water. (People with drug problems are on the first floor and people who are sober are on the second floor.) They could use a few dozen books as a donation. On the second floor there was only about six or eight books on the window seal, that was the little library they had going on. I might see what I can do about that as free books are easy enough to come by. The restrooms aren't extremely clean but probably look better than you would imagine. You might really want to bring some shower shoes or if nothing else maybe take a shower with your socks on or something. On paper, you're required to take a shower each day, but in practice, no one is watching over you/bearing down on you to take one or even asking you to take one, which is nice. I believe they have fifty six or fifty eight beds, somewhere in there. At mealtimes, you grab your cup of tea or whatever they have available and your plastic silverware yourself, but they bring the tray of food to you. (For one of the meals, that is, the next meal, you lined up and told them which of the dishes/sides you wanted and grabbed your tray once you got through the line.) It's all pretty simple, no demanding routines or anything to go through, you're not asked to talk extensively about your life or problems or goals, which is a plus unless you're into that sort of thing. However, you can't actually hang out there all day, once breakfast ends at about 7 AM, you're back out on the street doing what you need to do for the day, it was actually a little before sun up and before the traffic picks up. I had no inclination that there were any bed bugs and I'm sensitive to them. They'll give you a hygiene bag that has toothpaste, some floss, a tooth brush, some soap, etc. a rag, a towel, a bed sheet and a cover. I don't think they give you a pillow however. I just used my towel and wash rag and whatever clothes I had with me that I wasn't wearing as a pillow. If you want a bed you have to show up early, I think about 12:15 to be on the safe side. All in all, it was kind of an exciting experience.”