September 3, 2026
Charleston has a reputation for its beauty, its history, and its hospitality. What most people do not see is the family next door whose pantry ran out three days ago, the mother on Johns Island putting off her prenatal visit because the bill is not in the budget, or the father trying for weeks to find free dental care for a tooth that has been keeping him up at night.
These are quiet realities for thousands of our neighbors across the Lowcountry, and they are exactly the situations Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach has been meeting for decades. From the century old Neighborhood House on America Street to their Johns Island campus, Our Lady of Mercy answers the Lowcountry’s hardest moments with dignity, practical help, and the simple belief that no neighbor should face hardship alone.
Recently, Jonna Palmer and Nashonda Hunter from Our Lady of Mercy visited Charleston Business Exchange to share the mission, the families who walk through their doors, and the renovation underway to serve those families for decades to come. Their presentation was a reminder that service is rarely glamorous. It is mostly showing up, listening well, and meeting people exactly where they are.
Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach has been serving Charleston since 1989, when the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy formally established the organization. Today the outreach operates two campuses: the century old Neighborhood House on America Street in Downtown Charleston, and a Johns Island campus that extends the same mission to families across the Lowcountry.
What makes Our Lady of Mercy so unique is how completely they address the realities of poverty. Most organizations specialize. Our Lady of Mercy does not. Families can find emergency food, free dental care, prenatal visits, GED prep, financial literacy classes, ESL instruction, after school tutoring, clothing, and emergency assistance, all under one umbrella. It is a one stop front door for neighbors who usually have to knock on five different doors to get the help they need.
One thing that stayed with the room from Jonna and Nashonda’s presentation was the scale of the work. In the last year alone, the outreach delivered wraparound services to 6,778 neighbors, distributed 113,710 pounds of food, and connected 1,692 neighbors to essential healthcare. Eighty percent of students in the FDIC Money Matters financial literacy course left with measurable gains. These are not abstract numbers. Every one of them is a person who walked in carrying something heavy and walked out lighter.
The story begins in 1829, when Bishop John England established the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Charleston, a religious order dedicated to serving the poor, the sick, and the marginalized. For nearly two centuries, the Sisters have lived out that call in the heart of the city.
In 1915, the Sisters opened the Neighborhood House on America Street. That Downtown Charleston ministry has continued quietly ever since, and its soup kitchen still feeds roughly 120 neighbors a day, alongside a clothes closet, food pantry, GED classes, and emergency assistance.
In 1989, shortly before Hurricane Hugo reshaped the Lowcountry, the Sisters formalized all of this work into a single organization: Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach. A Johns Island campus was added so the mission could reach even more families, and that combined model has grown every year since.
Under Executive Director Jermaine Husser, Our Lady of Mercy has built one of the most comprehensive Charleston community outreach models in the state, grouped under three areas: wellness, education, and basic needs.
On the wellness side, the Dental Clinic on Johns Island is the only facility offering free, comprehensive dental care to uninsured patients within a 15 mile radius, staffed in part by MUSC and Trident Tech students alongside retired volunteer dentists. The Women’s Services program partners with Roper St. Francis to provide prenatal and gynecological care for mothers who would otherwise go without.
On the education side, after school programs help children stay on track, GED classes give adults a second chance, ESL courses open doors for Spanish speaking neighbors, and financial literacy classes give families practical tools to build stability. Alongside the food pantries, clothing closets, emergency financial assistance, and soup kitchen, these programs represent a safety net that does not exist anywhere else in the region at this scale.
And right now, the team is in the middle of a major renovation of the Neighborhood House itself, transforming the interior into a refreshed, modern space designed to serve more neighbors with dignity for decades to come. This is not a cosmetic refresh. It is a recommitment to the people who have counted on this building since 1915, and to the families who will walk through its doors for the next hundred years.
One of the most powerful parts of Jonna and Nashonda’s visit was hearing just how many ways everyday Charlestonians can plug in. You do not need a big budget or a flexible schedule to be part of the mission. Some of the most meaningful contributions come from the simplest acts of showing up, and Our Lady of Mercy has built several programs that make it easy for anyone to participate.
Right now, Charleston Business Exchange is hosting a community donation drive for Our Lady of Mercy from now through May 19. Shop the Amazon Registry and every item you purchase will be delivered directly to the Neighborhood House, or bring your donation to our Tuesday meeting and we will get it there for you. It is one of the simplest ways to be part of the mission, and every item matters. Grab one thing, grab a cart full, or share the registry with your team, your church, or your family and see what your circle can do together before May 19.
The soup kitchen at the Neighborhood House is the heart of the ministry. Every weekday, volunteers arrive before lunch to help prepare and serve roughly 120 hot meals to neighbors from across Downtown Charleston. Church groups, families, and businesses can sign up together to cook, plate, and sit down with the people walking through the door. Groups often return month after month because the experience stays with them long after the last tray is cleared.
The food pantry and clothes closet run on donations and volunteer hours. Volunteers help sort groceries, restock shelves, and organize clothing so every family can find what they need with dignity. This is a role you can do for a single morning or adopt as a recurring shift. Businesses, churches, and schools often host food or clothing drives that fill the pantry for weeks, turning a quiet collection in your office into immediate help for a neighbor across town.
If your gift is education, Our Lady of Mercy has meaningful roles waiting. The after school program needs tutors to help elementary students with reading and math. The GED classroom needs volunteers willing to walk adult learners through the path to a diploma. ESL courses need Spanish speaking support, and financial literacy workshops need working professionals to teach practical budgeting, credit, and savings. Retired teachers, working parents, and college students all find a place here, and every hour given to a student compounds in ways you may never see.
Financial gifts are the fuel behind every other program. Dental supplies, utility bill assistance, groceries, and teachers all cost money, and most of that money comes directly from the Charleston community. One time donations, monthly giving, in kind gifts, and program sponsorships all move the mission forward. Corporate partnerships and event sponsorships let your business publicly stand for something that matters to the families showing up at the door every day.
Beyond these programs, Our Lady of Mercy welcomes group volunteer days, drive hosts, and advocates who can share the mission within their own networks. With thousands of neighbors served every year and the Neighborhood House renovation actively underway, the need for community support is only growing. There has never been a better time to get involved.
At Charleston Business Exchange, we believe that business is ministry. That belief shapes how we show up in our work, how we build relationships, and how we engage with the community around us. It is also why we open our doors every Tuesday to organizations like Our Lady of Mercy, so our members can hear firsthand from the people doing the faithful, hands on work of serving families in need.
Jonna and Nashonda’s presentation was one of those moments that reminds you why being part of something bigger than yourself matters. It was not a sales pitch or a fundraising ask. It was two people sharing a real mission, and you could feel the impact in the room. Members left that meeting thinking about how they could host a food drive at their office, sign their team up to serve a meal, or introduce their church to the volunteer opportunities at the Neighborhood House.
That is what stewardship looks like in action. It is not just about how we manage our businesses or grow our bottom line. It is about recognizing the gifts, resources, and relationships we have been given and using them to serve the people who need it most. When a family is hungry, a student is falling behind, or a neighbor is one dental appointment away from losing sleep for another year, the Charleston community has the power to step in with dignity, generosity, and hope. Being part of that kind of impact is exactly why CBX exists.
If you want to learn more about Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach, explore volunteer opportunities, or find out how to support the Neighborhood House renovation, visit olmoutreach.org.
You can also follow Our Lady of Mercy on social media to stay up to date on volunteer drives, upcoming events, and stories of neighbors whose lives are changing through the outreach.
Whether you serve a meal, tutor a student, drop off a bag of groceries, or share this story with someone who needs to hear it, every act of generosity helps keep a neighbor standing when they need it most. That is the kind of legacy worth building.
