Annual Sumter Item Fireside Fund kicks off, honors late Hubert D. Osteen Jr.
When everyone suffers together, do all suffer equally? The answer is no, and it may be the biggest reason why you and I should support The Fireside Fund this season.
You have seen it all around you. It's been visible at the gas pump, the grocery store and the pharmacy. Like the awkward relative who pops in unannounced for a visit, inflation has returned to affect us all. Inflation has hit a 13-year high and has impacted virtually every commodity and good that we use daily.
The same is true for heating costs. Natural gas commodity futures are up 91% in 12 months, and propane is up 148% by the same markers. Consider that last season was a warmer winter than usual, decreasing prices due to decreased demand. With those factors, the cost to heat a home this winter compared to 2020 will be tremendously higher.
When costs go up, the more income you have, the more it is absorbed. When basics like food, gasoline, medicine and heating resources increase, those living paycheck to paycheck and those in poverty are affected more adversely. The income does not rise on those levels to compensate. Not only that, but high-end goods are less likely impacted by inflation than the commodities we all use.
Did Jesus notice the disparity between those with financial security and the poor? In Mark 12, he watched a poor widow give to the Temple treasury. He noted that many people had given out of their abundance that day, but she had given all that she had. The numerical amount of the gifts Jesus referenced may not have compared, but to the widow who had nothing, it hit a little differently. Jesus recognized it. We should, too.
In short, the clients who come to the Crisis Relief Ministry are entering a season that will stretch their ability to meet critical needs. As the stimulus checks have come and gone and pandemic SNAP benefits and the Child Tax Credit payments are nearing an end, a financial reckoning is coming. It may be unpleasant for all of us, but we must be aware of how much more the low-income neighbors around us are affected. Can you share with those who need extra help now to keep their homes warm and secure? I am sure that no gift goes unnoticed. Sumter United Ministries will continue to use it in the most effective ways possible to help those who need it most. Thank you!
About Fireside Fund
Each winter since 1969, The Sumter Item has run a fundraiser to collect money from its readers to be donated entirely to Sumter United Ministries.
SUM does a lot. The faith-based nonprofit provides emergency and life-rebuilding services ranging from food, shelter and clothing to final notice bill pay, access to educational opportunities and a medical clinic. The Sumter Item recognizes and appreciates every ministry their staff and volunteers run, but Fireside Fund was created to focus on one area that becomes critical for the next few months: heat.
Every penny donated to this fund will directly help people who live in Sumter by preventing heating services from being turned off, allowing access to propane or other heating sources and, when enough funding is available and the need is there, funding long-term housing fixes to make homes more efficient.
SUM clients remain anonymous, but Item readers will hear from the ministry each week about real examples of how Fireside Fund is benefitting the community. Each Wednesday update will also include a list of those who donated and, if they chose to include someone, in whose name they made the donation.
Each year, the campaign runs in memory of a community member who died in the last year who contributed to the community through their work, volunteerism and/or philanthrophy.
This year hits a little differently for The Sumter Item.
Fireside Fund this year is dedicated to the memory of Hubert D. Osteen Jr., a former publisher and editor of The Sumter Item and father of its current owners. He passed away in December 2020 at the age of 84.
Osteen did a lot. He started working for his family's newspaper at the age of 13 and worked his way up to the top. He became a statewide industry leader and still found time to serve on local boards and give back at home, whether that be with the S.C. Parks, Recreation and Tourism Commission or Downtown Revitalization Board. He was recognized by the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce and Sumter YMCA with their top awards.
Osteen and his widow, Jackie, started the Joseph Boozer Scholarship for high school students in honor of the teenage son of a longtime employee who tragically died.
And, of course, he started the Fireside Fund. Since 1969, this fundraiser has raised more than $1.7 million.
Thank you for your donation and support.