Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina Announces Release of Research Brief on Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers in South Carolina
July 28, 2014
COLUMBIA, SC – The Sisters of Charity Foundation is announcing the release of a Research Brief on Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers in South Carolina. From sun-up to sun-down, migrant and seasonal farmworkers work to support South Carolina’s multi-billion dollar agribusiness sector and economy. Farmworkers plan, cultivate, harvest, process, pack for market and store fresh foods that feed families each day. “Migrant and seasonal farmworkers play an integral role as they work to support local farms across South Carolina especially during the summer months,” said Tom Keith, Foundation President.
Authored by Foundation Senior Research Director Dr. Stephanie Cooper-Lewter, the Research Brief addresses the contributions and challenges farmworkers in South Carolina face based on research, interviews and site visits, and Listening Session held in collaboration with Student Action with Farmworkers. The brief identifies five areas where change is needed to strengthen families – the broken labor system, dangerous working conditions, poverty-level wages, substandard housing and challenges children face accessing school. The brief concludes with concrete steps individuals can take to stand in solidarity and support the farmworker movement.
As part of the Foundation’s Immigrant Families Initiative launched in June 2014, Student Action with Farmworkers is a current recipient of a $34,000 grant to provide outreach to over 750 farmworkers and their families in rural South Carolina this summer. They place bilingual interns to serve, some of whom are from farmworker families themselves, with local organizations to provide information on accessing health, education, legal and other family support services to migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
About the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina
The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, established in 1996, is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System and has been a key player to address poverty statewide. The Foundation has provided funding to more than 1,900 organizations since its inception, totaling more than $54 million in grants in all 46 counties of South Carolina. The Foundation conducts research to strengthen the effectiveness of its work and to facilitate learning and share knowledge to help lift families out of poverty.
