By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Penn Center plans to open a new school to help educate about Heir’s Property rights thanks to a grant received last week.
The Coastal Community Foundation awarded a total of $850,000 in Catalyst Grants to two local non-profit organizations last week, with $650,000 of that going to the Penn Center to fund The Emory Campbell Preservation School.
The remaining $200,000 was granted to Habitat for Humanity of the Lowcountry.
An event was held on Feb. 5 to announce the awards at Penn Center in the Frissell Community House on St. Helena Island.
The school will provide an opportunity for Gullah/Geechee decedents to become further educated about heirs’ property rights so that they can be empowered to protect their land, especially those who are susceptible to land loss and developmental pressures.
“This grant comes at a crucial time when Beaufort County residents are considering what future development of the region will look like,” said Penn Center Executive Director Robert Adams. “The Emory Campbell Preservation School will provide an opportunity for residents to build the relationships and the tools required to collectively chart the future together.”
The school is named after Emory Campbell, former Executive Director of Penn Center.
Penn Center was the first school in the South to offer an education to formerly enslaved people, and now, the school is going to help to preserve the Gullah/Geechee history and way of life, Campbell said.
The grant that was awarded to Penn Center will be broken up over a period of five years, and the grant going to Habitat for Humanity will be broken up over two years.
The Catalyst Grant program was launched in 2020 and focuses on large-scale projects that will benefit the community.
Delayna Earley formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
