"Those in our community who care deeply about the human condition of others are still finding it a challenge to feed the hungry, to clothe and shelter the needy, and to care for abused women and children and for people with disabilities.

Therefore, the Foundation Board through the Cloak and Sword Fund will follow Christ's example, as evidenced by St. Martin of Tours, to give the highest priority to local organizations whose mission is to meet the fundamental needs of those in crisis."

Thus reads the mission statement of the Cloak and Sword Fund of the St. Martin's Foundation. Annually, the Foundation awards modest grants (through a grant application process) to worthy community organizations that serve these critical needs.

The St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields Foundation Board met on March 21, 2011 to consider nine applications for outreach grants from the Cloak & Sword Fund. The Board was guided by the fund’s mission statement (see above).

The Foundation Board’s payout policy enacted in 1994, states that we will give 5% of the rolling three year average of the net worth of the Cloak and Sword Fund on an annual basis. The Board awarded $20.000 worth of grants this year to the following:

• $4,000 for Home Works to assist in the one day blitz scheduled for April 16, 2011 to make repairs to approximately 20 homes in the Columbia area. An estimated 600 teens and adult volunteers from churches, schools, businesses and service organizations will make needed repairs.
  
• $4,000 for the Columbia Oral Health Clinic's denture program. Providing dental care is crucial based on the increased number of cases of people affected by the HIV virus in South Carolina. The clinic provides dental care to the uninsured/underinsured adult residents living with HIV/AIDS in the Midlands.

• $4,000 for the Harvest Hope Food Bank, which will provide assistance to their Mobile Food Pantry Programs. Mobile Food Pantries serve clients who do not have the means to travel to other emergency food programs.
  
• $2,200 to the South Carolina HIV/AIDS Council’s H.O.P.E.(Healing Others through Prayer and Encouragement) Chaplaincy Program. This program is for people who have been diagnosed with HIV. There are 20 committed chaplains who are either commissioned as professional chaplains or fully ordained.
  
• $6,000 for York Place Episcopal Church Home for Children, which is a residential treatment center serving children with severe emotional problems. The grant will help fund the treatment of these children.

The Foundation Board would like to thank the people of St. Martin’s for their generous contributions to the Cloak and Sword Fund. If anyone would like more information about the programs we gave grants to this year, please contact a Foundation Board member.

Foundation Board: Pat D’Anna, Bob Askins, Gingi Blume, Vernon Brantley, Joey Broussard, Tom Laborde, Nancy Truluck, Joe Watts, Suzie Anderson, El Thompson, and Sally Johnston.