LET THE
Sunshine In BY ALLYSON JONES
Providing inclusive opportunities to connect with one another and the community, Pockets Full of Sunshine has been “making the Lowcountry a sunnier place for people with disabilities” since 2015. When those with special needs complete high school at age 21, they are left without the safety net and support system provided by the school. Knowing most adults with disabilities are truly exceptional people with unique gifts and talents who each have something to offer their community, Pockets Full of Sunshine was founded by a Beaufort County School District speech therapist, a special education teacher, and the parents of a special needs student who was about to graduate. The non-profit started small with one or two adults meeting on weekends for crafts in donated office space. Ten years later, the organization now serves over 100 adults with weekly programming in their converted storage unit, a full calendar of social events and community outreach. “It’s really blossomed,” notes co-founder Laurin Rivers. “Which I just think speaks to the need for services for adults with disabilities.” A yellow, discarded label from a brake fluid cap created by a Detroit company inspired the name and logo for “Pockets Full of Sunshine” and the adults served by the program became known as the “Rays.” The organization rescued thousands of these labels destined for the landfill where they were repurposed and recycled by the Rays into greeting cards, gift tags, magnets and stationery. “Our weekly programming is mostly arts based,” says Rivers. “A lot of adults really connect working with their hands and that gives us a range of things that all different abilities can take part in. It’s really centered around what we’re involved in or what’s going on in the community.” “We’ve done mural paintings and created art for The Sandbox which they have on display. We have a screen printing microbusiness, which is also wonderful. It’s very tactile and it’s immediate gratification. Then we take the T-shirts, the tea towels and different things that they’ve printed out in the community.” Some of the screen printed merchandise and crafts designed by local artists and produced by the Rays are available at area stores, markets and community events, as well as their online shop. Pockets Full of Sunshine also has longstanding partnerships with schools, businesses and various civic and community groups, including the Island Rec. Center, where they utilize some of the adaptive classes, host summer camps for people with disabilities and sell their merchandise and volunteer at special events. For instance, the Rays recently designed a mermaid coming out of an oyster shell for the November Oyster Festival and will spend the entire year filling 35,000 eggs for the Rec. Center’s Easter Eggstravaganza on April 12. “We have egg stuffing parties with local groups,” says Rivers. “It’s such a great activity for them and it’s also a social activity 38
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because we can work alongside others and talk while stuffing eggs. The adults really enjoy it and it’s full circle because then we go and volunteer at the event.” In 2019, a partnership with USCB’s Hospitality, Resort and Tourism Management program was important when the Rays’ Peanut Butter Putters were named the Official Cookie of Plaid Nation for the RBC Heritage golf tournament. On a whim, Pockets Full of Sunshine signed up for the tournament’s cookie contest that year. Rivers dug out an old recipe with about five ingredients and the Rays went to work baking. “There was a panel of judges and we were up against these home bakers who had made beautiful cookies,” she recalls. “But ours had a lot of heart and we ended up winning! It was great to connect with the tournament further and we were named the PGA Tour’s runner-up for Charity of the Year. All because of the cookies.” After winning, the Rays joined students and professors in USCB’s test kitchen to help bake the 3,000 cookies contracted for the April tournament. Today, they still produce and package hundreds of Peanut Butter Putters for Heritage and other special events throughout the year. Currently, there is a waitlist for the weekly programming offered by Pockets Full of Sunshine, although social events – such as bowling, pizza baking, movies, ice cream socials, cooking classes, ballroom dancing and more – are offered on a first-come, firstserved basis. The organization has recently purchased a larger building on Arrow Road which is undergoing renovations. When “Sunshine House” opens in late spring or early summer, there will be more room for participants and more opportunities for the Rays to get out in the community. Plans for the new facility also include an onsite store. “It’s very fulfilling to me to provide these opportunities and relationships,” Rivers concludes. “The response from the community has been wonderful and we want more of it. If you come to an event where the Rays are, you leave with a really good, happy feeling. They are happy, joyful and full of love. I just think that’s a special thing and we have a special group of people. We need more of that in the world.” For information on becoming a Ray, volunteering with Pockets Full of Sunshine or purchasing items from the store, visit pocketsfullofsun.org or call (423) 760-2103.