Tag: SC Youth

Event at Fort Dorchester Elementary highlights efforts in South Carolina

South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Vision to Learn President Ann Hollister attended a special event Friday, March 14, at Fort Dorchester Elementary School, celebrating the nonprofit’s success in providing vision care to children across South Carolina.

During the event, Evette and Hollister helped 20 students at the school try on their new glasses for the first time. This moment marked a milestone for Vision to Learn’s South Carolina program, which has provided more than 30,000 vision screenings, 12,000 eye exams and 10,000 pairs of glasses to students in need, all at no cost to the child or their family.

“Education is the gateway to success, and for students with vision issues, glasses are the gateway to learning,” Evette said. “I’m proud to partner with Vision to Learn to help ensure our children have access to the eye care they need to reach their full potential.”

Since its launch in 2021, Vision to Learn has expanded its reach in South Carolina, assisting students in Charleston and Dorchester counties. The program serves as one of the state’s most comprehensive school-based initiatives for children’s eye care.

“Vision to Learn has been a game changer for students in Dorchester County,” said Dorchester School District Two Interim Superintendent Chad Dougherty. “By providing eye exams and glasses to students where they are every day – at their neighborhood school – this effort has delivered access to care that was sorely lacking for many of our students.”

Vision to Learn, a national nonprofit founded in 2012, seeks to address the disparity in access to eye care, especially in low-income communities. According to the organization, about 1-in-4 children need glasses, but many go without the proper care. In South Carolina alone, an estimated 100,000 students lack the necessary glasses.

“More than 3 million children across the country go to school every day without the glasses they need,” said Vision To Learn Founder Austin Beutner. “Every child in every school, everywhere in the country, should have the glasses they need to succeed in school and in life.”

For more information on Vision to Learn and its programs, visit www.visiontolearn.org

By Pamela S. Evette; originally published in the Post & Courier February 6, 2025

On Wednesday we recognized National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a day created to inspire American girls and women to play sports and be active.

While this should be a day when our country celebrates how far we’ve come in creating opportunities for women and girls to build confidence, become stronger and develop character, it has instead become a focal point in our enduring fight to protect women and girls.

In recent years, driven by the increasingly radical left, girls’ and women’s sports have been under attack. In their misguided and warped embrace of diversity, equity and inclusion, liberals have pushed an agenda to allow biological boys and men to compete head-to-head against girls and women. In doing so, not only have women and girls across the nation been robbed of the recognition and titles they deserved, but those participating in more physical sports have been knowingly put in harm’s way.

I was incredibly proud Wednesday to stand with President Donald Trump as he signed an executive order to keep men out of women’s sports. Still, as a mom and participant in women’s sports, I am heartbroken at the immeasurable damage that cannot be undone. Liberal Democrats will stop at nothing to push their agenda, no matter how out of touch with the desires of the American people, because they’ve forgotten a critical aspect of our rights as Americans.

They’ve forgotten that one person’s rights end where another’s begin.

As Americans, we are free to make certain choices: where we shop, who we live with, how we choose to dress, etc. But the choices one person makes should never infringe on the rights of others.

If you identify as a gender other than your biological sex at birth, that choice doesn’t give you the right to infringe on my daughter’s safety, comfort or ability to excel against other biological girls in competitive sports. And it definitely doesn’t give you the right to steal our girls’ and women’s hard-earned and rightful successes.

Democrats want to tout the science on issues that fit their agenda but have intentionally ignored the science when it comes to how unfair, and frankly dangerous, it is for men to compete against women. Pound for pound, men are stronger, more powerful and faster.

According to a Consensus Statement for the American College of Sports Medicine: “Thus for athletic events and sports relying on endurance, muscle strength, speed, and power, males typically outperform females by 10%-30% depending on the requirements of the event. These sex differences in performance emerge with the onset of puberty and coincide with the increase in endogenous sex steroid hormones, in particular testosterone in males, which increases 30-fold by adulthood, but remains low in females.”

I was proud to stand with Gov. Henry McMaster when he signed the Save Women’s Sports Act into law in 2022 to preserve fair competition for all S.C. girls and women. And even though other conservative states have passed similar laws and we now have President Trump’s executive order, we can’t stop there.

We must do more to set the record straight for the women and girls who’ve been robbed of their titles, which are currently held by biological men. We can never fully repair the harm and give back those stolen moments of glory, but we must find a way to provide these female athletes and their families — who dedicated so much time, blood, sweat and tears — the titles they rightfully earned.

I am grateful to President Trump and Gov. McMaster for their leadership in this fight to protect our nation’s women and girls. I hope you’ll join me as I continue to advocate and fight for women and girls of all ages both in South Carolina and throughout our nation.

Pamela S. Evette is the lieutenant governor of South Carolina.

By Lamaur Stancil, originally published February 3, 2025 in the Post & Courier Rock Hill

ROCK HILL — It’s not just a place to play.

Rock Hill’s Miracle Park, featuring a playground, a baseball field and a general-use field, emphasizes the inclusion of children with disabilities who also want to participate.

On Jan. 31, city officials led a groundbreaking ceremony for the next phases of the 15-year park, which opened in 2021 as a joint effort among Rock Hill, Winthrop University and a slew of donors.

“It’s great to have an accessible park, but we also need a place where there’s community and belonging,” said Kylie Carroll, executive director for Miracle Park, located between Eden Terrace and Cherry Road, near Winthrop.

Miracle Park, Rock Hill

Miracle Park in Rock Hill; Lamaur Stancil/staff

Throughout York County, 2025 could be a transformative year for parks. In Fort Mill, the town is preparing to receive bids for a renovation plan for Walter Y. Elisha Park.

And the York County Parks and Recreation Department in January released its strategic plan for its facilities.

At Miracle, the Phase 2 plans include adding a second baseball field, a multi-purpose field for football and pickleball, a fishing pond and more parking.

Phase 3 will place a retail space at the corner of Cherry and Richmond Drive. That will be Miracle Coffee, where adults with disabilities will be trained to work. MaxAbilities of York County, a nonprofit agency that provides assistance to people with disabilities, will run the shop.

“There’s nothing like this anywhere in the U.S. of this magnitude, serving people with disabilities as its primary objective,” said real estate developer Warren Norman at the groundbreaking event.

Miracle Field, for example, is wheelchair accessible and has a rubberized surface with painted bases, designed for individuals with physical and cognitive challenges. The dugouts there are also wheelchair friendly.

Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette brings her supporters, friends, and the people of South Carolina her 4th Quarter e-mail update. As our state continues to recover following Hurricane Helene and we look forward to having President Trump back in the White House, here are a few highlights on election night, honors / recognition, podcasts, and #TeamSC working together towards recovery +  S.C. business features (large & small), S.C. non-profits who are making a difference, and a few personal updates.

Below is December 2024’s opening message from Lt. Gov. Evette.

A Message from Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette

As we celebrate this holiday season and approach the end of 2024, our state and nation have so much to be thankful for. As Lt. Governor, I was incredibly proud of how Team SC and all South Carolinians came together in the aftermath of hurricane Helene — helping one another and our neighbors to the north in Western North Carolina.

I am also grateful that Americans across the nation came out and voted in November for a return to common sense and for strong family values. Thank you to all of you for helping to get our nation back on the right track starting with the election of President Trump.

I wish all of you, your families, and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas and many blessings in the New Year!

Lt. Governor Pamela S. Evette

Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette brings her supporters, friends, and the people of South Carolina her 3rd Quarter e-mail update. As we head towards the presidential election, it’s an incredibly busy time! Here are just a few highlights on the RNC, supporting President Trump, honors / recognition, fighting for S.C. kids and families, S.C. business features (large & small), S.C. non-profits who are making a difference, and a few personal updates.

Below is September 2024’s opening message from Lt. Gov. Evette.

A Message from Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette

Every day, I feel blessed beyond measure to serve the people and the businesses of South Carolina. No matter where my travels take me, I’m alway quick to brag on the many South Carolinians who work hard, do good, and aim higher.

This truly is the best place to live, work, and raise a family — for which we owe a great deal to our men and women in uniform. I ask you to join me in thanking our law enforcement officers and military members today and at every opportunity.

As we get closer to the general election on Nov. 5th, I ask you to remain strong in your commitment to the conservative values that keep S.C. winning! Remember to vote Republican up and down the ballot. Let’s bring this thing home. Thank you for all you do!

Lt. Governor Pamela S. Evette

By Elizabeth Hustad originally posted on Sept 25, 2024 by the Post and Courier North Augusta Star

She credits a first job working for Dairy Queen – earning $2.10 an hour and her mother advising that she better save half of it – with laying the foundations for success, both in business and in politics.

South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette was in North Augusta on Sept. 17, speaking before Chamber of Commerce members and promoting school choice and youth employment as integral in South Carolina’s future economic competitiveness.

Evette said that DQ job taught her about the value of money and the value of saving, and about working with others and, sometimes, with difficult others.

But now, the nation is at its lowest point for youth employment, she said – kids aren’t excited about working and they’re not learning the foundational lessons taught in those first jobs.

About 55% of all 16- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. were working in July this year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, though July is also statistically the peak as many of these youth take on summer jobs that are dropped when school is back in session.

By another measure, the youth labor force participation rate – those who are able to work and are doing so – was about 60 percent in July, or just under the nation’s overall participation rate for all working age citizens but significantly below the 83% for workers in the 25-54 age group.

Gov. Henry McMaster’s Workforce Scholarships for the Future, begun in November 2021, is meant to reskill and employ South Carolinians through leveraging the state’s technical college system.

But that initiative, though successful in training more than 32,000 of nurses, welders, forklift operators and commercial drivers – among others – also left “a vacuum,” Evette said.

That vacuum was the entry-level jobs not being filled by young South Carolinians: the DQ jobs that teach the first lessons.

Evette and McMaster have partnered with the state’s Department of Employment and Workforce to launch the “YES” initiative to ease entry into the job market for today’s youth.

The Youth Employment Site allows businesses across the state to post their starter jobs and for youth to search the database by inputting their zip code and age and having returned to them the available jobs in their area that are suited to them.

But even the lessons of first jobs have to start at home and in education, Evette said.

“I firmly believe if a child can read, a child can learn; if a child can learn, a child can be anything they want to be,” she said.

Both Evette and Gov. McMaster are proponents of school choice and “a complete voucher system” that, she said, could be especially helpful for rural areas.

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But the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled a portion of a pilot program of vouchers unconstitutional: public money from the state’s Education Scholarship Trust Fund, the ruling said, cannot be used for private school tuition, though it may be put toward tutoring, materials and other supportive needs.

During her stop in North Augusta, Evette also touched on the energy crisis and its impacts to South Carolina’s economy.

The rolling blackout that almost was on Christmas Day in 2022 was the impetus for heightened focus at the General Assembly.

“We squeaked by. But it did send a loud message,” Evette said.

Six months after the scare, Gov. McMaster issued an executive order creating PowerSC, a working group to engage with the state’s energy stakeholders and “develop strategic plans to ensure South Carolina has the energy capacity to meet the needs of the state’s record-breaking economic development and population growth.”

“All the careers of the future, whether it comes as security or grid, AI – these are all big energy producers,” Evette said. And “South Carolina, we’re famous for manufacturing. Manufacturing requires energy.”

The state is also the fastest growing in the nation as far as population goes, at least according to 2023 estimates. South Carolina ranked 10th for the 2020 Census, having grown by 10 percent.

Doing “whatever we can at the state level to help our businesses continue to grow,” is paramount, Evette said. “We’re going to work on education. We’re going to work on our workforce. We’re working on energy. We’re trying to give you everything you need to make South Carolina grow.”

Speaking with reporters after her Chamber appearance, Evette acknowledged South Carolina’s No. 2 spot in this year’s Area Development Rankings, the second time the state has been runner-up to Georgia as best state to do business.

Evette said the No. 2 ranking was a show of “South Carolina’s fingerprints,” a reference to remarks she’d made just 30 minutes prior to the state’s manufacturing sector and its being home to some of the largest manufacturing plants in the country: wherever BMWs and Bridgestonetires are seen, that’s largely South Carolina production.

“And we’re just building,” she said. Investing in career opportunities that keep the “best and brightest” here and providing for ease of doing business –including basic hospitality – are big, she said.

More than offering a site to new industry, we stay with them, we connect them with our technical colleges, we work on getting them a workforce. And we’re with them all the way to the day they open up their door,” she said.

Evette will be back in North Augusta later this year, partnering with Major League Baseball as MLB hosts a kids baseball clinic at SRP Park.

Get kids excited about working, she said, but also get kids excited about getting outside and moving again (and leaving the phone behind).

by Shawn Cabbagestalk originally posted on September 17, 2024 by WJBF

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WJBF) — South Carolina’s Lieutenant Governor, Pamela Evette, made a stop in North Augusta today. She spoke with the Chamber about economic development and celebrated local achievements.

Evette discussed the state’s efforts to address future energy needs, emphasizing the importance of planning ahead. “Making sure that we can think 30 years ahead into the future by creating more energy because to be able to grow and do what you guys are doing here. Working on cyber, working on the grid, all of that requires extra energy and a lot of it,” she said.

To make sure North Augusta’s projects are successful, the state is working with local lawmakers who understand the area’s needs. “That’s how we as state government find out what job careers we think will be deficient in the years to come and how we can put an emphasis on letting our young people know what jobs will be there for them when they come outta high school,” Lt. Evette added

She also highlighted her commitment to business and education, including advocating for school choice and improving technical colleges. Evette introduced the YES Initiative, a program designed to connect youth with local job opportunities and teach them essential skills. The program links young people to local jobs via a new website, helping them gain skills and learn financial responsibility. “Whether it’s in an ice cream shop or a coffee shop. Something that’s a great first job that teaches ’em soft skills, but more importantly teaches them fiscal responsibility,” she said.

Evette emphasized that South Carolina’s technical colleges offer valuable career opportunities and are key to attracting businesses to the state. “So the more we can diversify and bring different industries in from all over the globe, the more we can keep our kids. And as a mom, that’s really important to me to make sure that we have opportunities for all of our children right here,” she said.

Also, Evette is partnering with the Augusta GreenJackets for an MLB event aimed at getting kids excited about sports and encouraging outdoor activities. “They’ll have all the equipment there and they’ll be doing lessons, getting their kids excited about being outside. It’s a great thing,” Lt. Evette added. The event is scheduled for Saturday, September 28th at 10 a.m. at SRP Park.

On September 12, 2024, South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Evette traveled to D.C. to participate in the annual 2024 LAMP National Summit where she was honored to receive the Joseph H. Rainey Empowered Leadership Award.

Named for Joseph H. Rainey, the first African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, this lifetime achievement award is given to honor an individual’s entire body of work in service of the center’s core values of advancing freedom, equality, and a more perfect union for all.

Lt. Governor Evette also had the pleasure of being interviewed by Sarah E. Hunt, President of the Rainey Center, discussing her decision to leave the business world and seek public office as well as her efforts on business growth, education, youth employment, workforce, and environmental stewardship while in office. You can watch the full interview below.

Originally posted on September 11 by Adrianna Lawrence on WBTW ABC News 13

FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) — South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and members of the state Department of Employment and Workforce visited the Florence Family YMCA Tuesday afternoon, highlighting the importance of young people in the workforce.

Finding workers is one of the state’s top concerns, according to the SCDEW. Encouraging young people to get out and work will benefit employers and teach kids valuable life skills. 

When you walk through the doors of the Florence Family YMCA, you’re greeted by young workers, eager to learn, grow and, of course, make their own money. Some are as young as 13 years old. 

“I’ve learned that I have to have a lot of patience and that I need to always try to strive through to keep me going,” one young worker said.

Others are in high school and beyond. 

“Some sense of dependability by being on time and when I’m needed,” another young worker said. “I learn how to problem solve whenever there is like small conflict.”  

Another worker said: “My brother worked here, and my sister, so we’ve really been here for a long time. It just feels like family to me.”

The Youth Employment Initiative aims to provide a resource for young people to find jobs and help employers in need of workers. 

That’s where SCDEW and Evette come in to say young people are the next workforce. 

“Why do we want our young people working?” Evette said. “Because we need them. Your small businesses, your community businesses, those are the businesses that support your Little League teams and your soccer teams here at the Y. They need our help. They need our kids to get involved and get working.” 

Brian New, CEO of the Florence Family YMCA, said he’s seen firsthand how valuable starting work at a young age can be. 

“They come back to me and tell me what the Y has meant, what that first job meant to them and what they learned through that first job here,” New said.

SCDEW Executive Director William Floyd III said kids, some as young as 13, will pave the way for the next workforce. 

“This is great to know where workforce begins and begins with Madison and younger,” Floyd said.

New said the Florence Family YMCA is always hiring young people. You can find a full list of jobs, here.

By Brandon Roberts, originally posted in The Summerville Journal Scene on Sept 2, 2024

South Carolina leaders highlight conservative values at Faith, Family and Freedom Dinner

South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and United States Rep. Nancy Mace headlined the 4th annual Dorchester County Republican Party Faith, Family and Freedom Dinner Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Dorchester Shrine Club in Summerville.

“The Faith, Family, and Freedom Dinner is a cornerstone event for the Dorchester County Republican Party, celebrating the core values that define our community and our nation,” said Steven Wright, DCRP chair. “Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Congresswoman Nancy Mace are two prominent leaders committed to advancing conservative principles and advocating for the interests of South Carolinians.”

Mace said she was honored to speak at the event and considers Dorchester County a special place.

“It’s good to be back,” Mace said in an interview with the Journal Scene. “Dorchester County helped bring us across the finish line. We won Dorchester County by over 30 points, and I’m grateful for that.

Mace said she did not have a prepared speech and planned to speak from her heart.

“I’ll probably talk a little bit about issues important to voters in Dorchester County,” she said. “I’ll talk about my faith a bit, and just be humble and thank everybody for their support and offer to help them in any way.”

In her speech, Mace discussed inflation, the border and women’s issues, which she called the “top issues in our district.” She also spoke about her role on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and its hearing about the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump, which led to the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.

Evette said she was happy to attend the event for several reasons, including Wright, who she lauded as a “dedicated and involved” leader at such a young age.

“It’s really important to support the young people who are getting involved, especially the Republican Party, because that’s what we have to do,” she said. “A few minutes of my speech tonight will be about opening our doors and getting more young people involved. How do we merge our young Republicans with our local GOPs so that we can be the big tent party we want to be.”

Evette said when she speaks to younger people, she feels they don’t think they’re welcome.

“They just feel like it’s an elite club for an older group,” she said. “I think you got to make it fun. Get business done quickly, and then it’s a social hour when everybody becomes friends; it’s much easier to get together and do fun things.”

In her speech, Evette said it is no secret that Trump will win South Carolina, so she urged those I attended to help in neighboring states.

“We have swing states to the south and north of us,” she said, referring to Georgia and North Carolina. “We got to come together. We got to help Georgia. We got to help North Carolina. It’s tight. We need to talk about our policies. We have great policies. We saw the DNC. Not one policy was talked about. They talked about feelings but not facts.”

Wright also handed out the DCRP’s annual awards at the event. June Fleming received the award for Executive Committee Person of the Year, Janette Chipas received the Most Outstanding Volunteer of the Year, Dorchester County Auditor J.J. Messervy was named Elected Official of the Year, and longtime Dorchester County Sheriff L.C. Knight was given the Lifetime Achievement Award.