AROUND CHAPIN AND IRMO

May is a busy month. Colleges are at the end of the spring semester; parents of high school seniors are busy getting ready for graduations. We honor our veterans on Memorial Day, and students are antsy to get out of school and enjoy the summer months. But did you know that May is also the month to celebrate barbecue, chocolate custards, hamburgers, salads, strawberries, and salsa? May is also the National Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage month. If you know an internal auditor, give them a hug because it is International Internal Audit Awareness Month.  

Want to build your own rain barrel? Want to save that rainwater from your house to reuse to water flower or vegetable gardens?  The Lexington County Stormwater Consortium will host the workshop at 407 Ball Park Rd May 25, 9 a.m.-noon.  Participants will make their own barrel to take home. Call Tina Blume at 803-358-8679 or email tina.blum@nacdnet.net to register, The cost is $25.  

Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. The Red Cross must collect nearly 14,000 blood donations every day for patients at approximately 2,600 hospitals across the country. The Low-man home is having a blood drive May 22, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.  Call 732-8800 to make an appointment or walk in.

Grace UMC, 410 Harbison Blvd., is hosting a 6-week session for beginners to learn how to play Appalachian-style music. This music program is sponsored by Preserving Our Southern Appalachian Music, a nonprofit organization, Visit YAMupstate.com for more info.  

The sessions start June 19, and instrument rentals are available. The cost is $60. Contact Susan Ware-Snow at 864-979-9188 or email at susu9196@gmail.com 

May is a hard time for Chapin residents, Rocky and Birgit Corey. At the birth of their newborn son, Ryan, in April, Brigit was found to have cancer. Tests have been done to make sure Ryan has no cancer, however mama Brigit started treatment in May for aggressive cancer that has spread to her liver, lungs, bones, and spleen. There is a Go Fund Me Page at www.gofundme.com and can be found under the search bar, a new baby+mom’s cancer=help. Let us as a community support them with prayers and with the help we are able to give them.