CoolSculpting in Ravenel, SC

RAVENEL, S.C. (WCSC) — Community Resource Center leaders are moving to a bigger space in Ravenel for better access for the community.

The group is relocating its operations from the Hollywood area to the Zion Multipurpose Platform Center, located along Davison Road in Ravenel.

The organization is partnering with several community groups to provide wrap-around services.

Center Executive Director Louis Smith calls the new location a ‘win-win’ for upper Charleston County. He says the larger space allows for more storage of resources, along with the opportunity to uplift the rural community that surrounds the building.

“We’ll be offering air conditioners through Operation Home, heaters through Operation Home,” Smith says. “We’ll be working with Baptist Hill High School, middle and high school. In fact, we’re going to have a training program with Mercedes-Benz.”

Other services will include school supplies, meals for seniors and clothing distributions such as baby clothes and school uniforms.

“We’re in Parkers Ferry, we were in Hollywood and we were at the school,” Smith says. “So every month, we were impacting almost 1,000 people, every month.”

Town of Ravenel Councilman Ashton T. Singleton says the building represents hope, equity, and a commitment to meeting people where they are.

“By bringing multiple support services together under one roof, we are removing barriers and creating a space where individuals and families can find guidance, resources, and real solutions. This center will strengthen our community by supporting health, stability, education, and economic opportunity for those who need it most,” Singleton says. “Investing in rural areas is not optional; it is essential. The opening of this center shows what is possible when we work together with purpose and compassion. And I look forward to seeing the lasting impact that the Community Resource Center Ravenel will have on our residents and future generations.”

Angela Brown was born and raised in the Ravenel area. Brown also plays the role of the point of contact for the new center.

Brown says the center brings resources to an area that sits in the middle of growing developments.

“For some reason, the individuals, the parishioners, they are getting left behind, they’re getting left out. So this center being here on Davison Road will help us to distribute to those that are in the middle of that.”

She says the space is critical for families suffering from the lack of accessibility to resources in other areas of the county.

“Before, we would have to travel out to Hollywood. People think that might be a short ride, but if you don’t have a vehicle or anyone to take you, that’s the dilemma,” Brown says.

Charleston County School District District 8 Trustee Darlene Dunmeyer-Roberson provided this statement:

“I’m excited to bring these much-needed resources to Ravenel. Healthy communities create healthy families, and healthy families support healthy students. When we meet basic needs, our children are better prepared to learn and succeed. I’m grateful to Mr. Louis Smith and the Community Resource Center for partnering with us to make sure rural communities like ours are not left behind.”

Leaders will begin moving supplies into the new building on Thursday. The plan is for the center to be open every second Thursday of the month from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Brown says the chosen time frame is meant to match the area’s traffic patterns. Leaders urge anyone interested in volunteering to visit the center during open hours.