<b>Give blood in July<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></b><b>at OneBlood</b>

The summer months put a severe hardship on the blood product supply nationally. The demand goes up and the collections go down because people are traveling more frequently and participating in outdoor activities. OneBlood, a local, community, non-profit blood bank, will hold the following drives in the Beaufort area in July: <span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

July 22 — Tidal Creek Fellowship — 9 a.m.-2 p.m.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

July 23 — Beaufort Memorial Hospital Main Campus (by cafeteria) — 8 a.m.-3 p.m.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

July 24 — Beaufort Memorial Medical and Administrative Building — 9 a.m.-3 p.m.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

July 26 — Lady’s Island Internal Medicine — 8:30 a.m.-11 p.m.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

July 26 — Keyserling Cancer Center — 12:30 p.m.-4 p.m.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

July 27 — Lowcountry Medical Group — 11 a.m.-4 p.m.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

July 30 — Harris Pillow Supply — 9 a.m.-2 p.m.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

<b>Children are invited to Tuesday Turtle Talks</b>

Every Tuesday in July, boys and girls and “children of all ages” are invited to Hunting Island State Park to learn all you ever wanted to know about sea turtles. The Friends of Hunting Island will be at the picnic pavilion near the lighthouse at 10:30 a.m. every Tuesday morning to talk about these wonderful creatures and answer all your questions. You’ll learn why and when the mother turtles return to Hunting Island, how they dig their nests and lay their eggs, what happens when the eggs hatch, and what challenges the baby turtles have on their way to the ocean.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

After the free talks there will be a free optional beach walk to see some nests and how they are kept safe. Sea turtles are so important to South Carolina beaches, and learning about them is a first step in making sure they continue to be protected and keep coming back to Hunting Island and to other coastal habitats. Park admission entry fees apply.

For more information, go to the Friends of Hunting Island website or to the Facebook page: FOHI Sea Turtle Conservation Project.

<b>YMCA adds additional CPR training dates<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></b>

The Wardle Family YMCA in Port Royal will offer four more CPR classes for community members this year. The courses will be held on four Saturdays — July 21, Aug. 18, Sept. 8, and Oct. 13 — from 8 a.m. to noon.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

Cost is $30 for this YMCA-certified course, and those interested need to register at the Y as space is limited and filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact aquatics director Lou Bergen at 843-522-9622 to register or visit beaufort-jasperymca.org.

<b>Riverview Baptist Church to hold VBS</b>

Riverview Baptist Church, 2209 Boundary Street in Beaufort, will hold “Game On” Vacation Bible School from July 23–July 27, from 5:45 to 8:45 p.m. Children age Pre-K through 12th grade are invited to attend.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

<b>BCSD scholarship golf </b><b>tournament coming in July</b>

The Beaufort County School District’s fifth annual Swinging with the Superintendent scholarship golf tournament is July 23 at Callawassie Island Club.

This event benefits students by ensuring BCSD graduates can attend the Technical College of the Lowcountry tuition-free for up to two years aftwer graduation.

All proceeds benefit the Building a Better Beaufort (B3) Scholarship Fund and are administered by TCL Foundation, Inc.

Tournament Includes prizes for top 10 teams, longest drive contest, closest-to-pin contest, hole-in-one contest, mulligan package for sale, catered boxed lunches, course refreshments, green and cart fees, range balls, a dozen Titleist golf balls, gift bags for all participants, and door prizes. For more information or to register, visit www.bcsdgolf.com.

<b>Adults invited to library to create a Zen Rock Garden</b>

Create your own miniature zen rock garden Monday, July 23, at 5:30 p.m. at the Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott St. All supplies will be provided for free and no craft experience is needed. Space is limited. Call 843-255-6458 to register.

<b>Bring in your old coupons for soldiers</b>

Did you know that manufacturer’s coupons that have expired in the U.S. can still be used by overseas military members?

Drop by the Beaufort Branch Library between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Sorting Day (July 27) to help clip, sort, and bag coupons to prepare for shipping, or drop off your unused coupons. Bring in your Smart Source, Proctor &amp; Gamble, and RMN manufacturer’s coupons any time. Coupons can be up to two months expired. No store-specific or internet coupons, please. For more information, call 843-255-6458.

<b>Friends of Hunting Island Beach Celebration</b>

On Saturday, July 28, everyone is invited to participate in the annual Sand

Sculpting Contest on Hunting Island. Registration starts at 11 a.m. at the lighthouse and judging starts at 2 p.m. with prizes awarded at 2:30 p.m. in the various categories — Sand Fleas (children up to 10), Sand Hoppers (11-17), Sand Tribes (mixed age groups and families) — as well as a prize for the People’s Choice Award for $1 per vote.

Also at 11 a.m., children are invited to the inaugural Sea Turtle Survival Challenge, a 10-15 minute interactive, educational, and experiential re-creation of what baby turtle hatchlings have to do on their way to the ocean — getting out of the nest, crawling over obstacles, making their way around objects in the sand, avoiding holes dug in the sand, and finally reaching the water and the waves.

There is no charge to participate in these events but entry to Hunting Island State Park requires a FOHI membership or paying the usual park entrance fee. There will be refreshments at the gift store, as well as t-shirt dyeing with park staff and face painting.

For more information, go to friendsofhuntingisland.org.

<b>Friends of Hunting Island upcoming events</b>

On Saturday, Aug. 4, and Sunday, Aug. 5, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., members of the Beaufort Radio Amateur Group (BRAG) will have their equipment at the Hunting Island Lighthouse to set up a radio station to coincide with National Lighthouse Day. Operators will be on-site to interact with visitors as BRAG “activates” the Hunting Island Lighthouse to “speak” to other lighthouses in coordination with celebrations at hundreds of lighthouses across the country.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

For a behind-the-scenes look at the lighthouse, Ted Panayotoff, Lighthouse Director of Friends of Hunting Island, will conduct his popular Interpretive Lighthouse Tour at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 9. Attendees meet at the lighthouse. Reservations are necessary. Call 843-838-7437. The Hunting Island Lighthouse is the only lighthouse in SC open to the public. There is a $2 fee to climb it and you must be over 44 inches tall.

On Friday, Aug. 10, at 2 p.m., a ceremony will be held to honor the last keeper at Hunting Island Lighthouse, Theodore Gaillard, and his wife, Estelle Ellen Gaillard. It will be at the Parish Church of St. Helena Cemetery at St. Luke’s Gate on Newcastle St. between King and Prince streets in downtown Beaufort. Keeper Gaillard retired in 1942 after serving at a lighthouse in Savannah Harbor to which he was transferred when the Hunting Island Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1933.

A U.S. Lighthouse Service grave marker will be placed on their graves with a benediction by Rev. Todd Simonis, and “Taps” will be played by a bugler from the Coast Guard.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp; </span>A poster with a photo of the Gaillards will be on display, and Panayotoff will give a summary of keeper Gaillard’s lighthouse service and Coast Guard career. <span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

On Saturday, Aug. 11, at 2 p.m. at the Hunting Island Lighthouse, the Beaufort Harbormasters will present a concert to honor and celebrate the history of this historic lighthouse.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp; </span>Bring lawn chairs for better enjoyment.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

All are invited to attend these free events, though there is an entry fee to Hunting Island State Park.

<b>Hurricane Preparedness Seminar to be held</b>

Get ready for the upcoming hurricane season. Join Beaufort County Emergency Management at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 6 at the Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott St., to learn about severe weather preparedness, Smart 911 services, and essential planning. For more information, call 843-255-6458.

<b>CERT releases class schedule for August</b>

Beaufort County residents interested in learning more about self-sufficiency during a disaster are invited to participate in the Community Emergency Response Team Program. Participants will learn to provide emergency assistance to their families and neighbors. CERT classes are free of charge. The next series will start Aug. 7. Classes will be held at the Technical College of the Lowcountry campus in Bluffton at 100 Community College Drive in room 125.

The course will be taught in four class sessions from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and one Saturday exercise class from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Tuesday, Aug. 7 — Personal Preparedness and Hazard Mitigation</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Thursday, Aug. 9 — Disaster Medical I</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Tuesday, Aug.14 — Disaster Psychology/Terrorism Response</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Thursday, Aug. 16 — Disaster Medical II / CERT Organization</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Saturday, Aug. 18 — Fire Suppression /Disaster Search Techniques Exercise</p>
For more information or to register send an email to cert@bcgov.net or contact Major David Zeoli, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, at 843-812-8035.

<b>Don't miss HBF's summer camp<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></b>

Beaufort’s historic architecture will become a laboratory in a one-day camp Aug. 8 at the Verdier House, 801 Bay Street. The camp is open to children ages 8-14. Campers can opt for a full session from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or half-day sessions from 9 a.m. to noon or 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp; </span>Enrollment is limited to 15 per session.

At the end of each session, students will have the opportunity to present their individual projects to parents and family members. Lunch, architectural scavenger hunt, field trip, and materials are included.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

Tuition is $30 per child per session. To ask questions or to request an admissions packet, call or email Jacque Wedler at the Verdier House at 843-379-6335 or jwedler@historicbeaufort.org. The event is sponsored by Historic Beaufort Foundation.