In the rural western area of Georgetown County (SC) sits the historical Gullah Geechee community of Plantersville.

Fed by its rivers and fertile fields, the western part of the county once produced crops of cotton and indigo. Unfortunately, Plantersville is now among the most economically and educationally disadvantaged areas in the region.

THE NEED IS OBVIOUS

Economic data from the 2022 U.S. Census shows the following comparisons:

Median household income for Plantersville is $32,714, less than South Carolina or the overall United States and only one-third of the median household income for Pawleys Island in the eastern part of Georgetown County.

Average Hourly Earnings for a resident of Plantersville is $12.78, again less than the state or the country and literally one-sixth of the average hourly earnings of a Pawleys Island resident.

ADDRESSING THE NEEDS

Focusing on this need, The Village Group – founded in 2006 – seeks to equip area youth with the skills to build strong families and a better community by focusing on college, career readiness, expanded cultural experiences and economic development. In addition to afterschool and summer educational programs, we are finding ways to improve healthy food sources in a food desert, where the nearest grocery store is 13 miles away. Our future holds economic development opportunities with plans for a 10-acre Plantersville Cultural Complex to act as a hub to help the Plantersville community thrive while preserving the past and reconnecting the future to the bountiful earth that its ancestors once harvested.