Community Support
PASCO’s long term commitment to community service is seen in its ongoing support of Children’s Chance, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization established in 1996 to assist children with cancer and their families in South Carolina with non-medical needs. It funds a variety of programs to meet the emotional, psychological and financial needs of pediatric cancer patients and their families. The following is a letter of appreciation for the work PASCO and its owners had been doing for over 17 years in raising money for a charity through an annual golf tournament.
It’s not often in today’s dog eat dog, bottom line obsessed world that one encounters a business and family that give unselfishly of themselves to help improve the plight of those that are less fortunate or may be in the midst of a severe crisis. And more importantly, their motivation for doing these passionate acts of kindness is not to reduce their taxable income or seek public recognition, but to show kindness and compassion for their fellow man.
We here at Children’s Chance, feel very blessed to have such a family and business that for more than 17 years, has been a compassionate partner and has helped us support hundreds of South Carolina families. As we have stood shoulder to shoulder with families during their child’s life and death struggle to overcome cancer, we have been fortunate to have a partner to help us help our neighbors during their time of need.
The late Billy Mill, patriarch of the Mill and PASCO family, chose Children’s Chance because he believed in our mission. To help us accomplish our work, he established his Billy Mill Charity Golf Classic. He wanted his golf tournament to be the premiere golf tournament in Columbia and to showcase our successful partnership and how such a partnership could benefit families who were experiencing such a terrifying ordeal.
After his death in 1997, the Mill family at his request, continued to support Children’s Chance through the Billy Mill Charity Golf Classic. 2013 will mark the 16th year that the Charity Golf Classic has been held and each year the tournament gets better and more popular. This year will be no exception.
Most importantly the proceeds from the tournament go to Children’s Chance to fund programs that benefit families who are experiencing their darkest fears, the loss of their child. Those programs are tailored to help families with their non medical needs such as rent, mortgage and utility assistance. Funds are also used to provide counseling services to ensure that families remain in tact to better support each other during this time of turmoil to facilitate emotional stability and promote the healing process for the entire family.
Without the support of PASCO and the Mill family, families in SC who are dealing with pediatric cancer would not have the resources or programs they need to help them get through their difficult times. For hundreds of South Carolinians who have survived pediatric cancer and on behalf of Children’s Chance, ‘thank you’ seems woefully inadequate in expressing our gratitude.
The success that we at Children’s Chance and the families we assist are able to enjoy is due in large part to the commitment and caring of PASCO and the Mill family.
On behalf of Children’s Chance, the Board of Directors and hundreds of SC families who have benefitted from their support, I thank the entire Mill family and our partners at Palmetto Automatic Sprinkler Company.
Many Thanks,
Tom McGee
Executive Director
Children’s Chance