In 2016, Going Places founder, Katie Blomquist, was a first-grade teacher in a low-income elementary school. She had a 6-year student named Jawan who wanted a bike for his birthday and it shocked Katie to learn he had never owned one. She wished she could buy him a bike, but that wasn’t possible on a teacher’s salary. It was something that Katie couldn’t get off her mind knowing Jawan was growing up without the joy of riding his own bike.As Katie started to ask around her class, she realized that most of the kids had never owned a bike. Remembering her own childhood filled with joyful memories of riding her bike all around her neighborhood, she set out to change this sad realization. Katie had the idea to buy all 650 students in her school a brand new, high-quality bike by starting a GoFundMe campaign. With the help of Affordabike, a local Charleston custom bicycle shop, this idea became a reality.Katie’s campaign went viral and some of the top news outlets in the country reported on it including Good Morning America, The Today Show, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, ABC World News, Time Magazine, USA Today, Post and Courier, and The Steve Harvey Show. The story behind Going Places was catching on fire throughout America. On March 30, 2017, she surprised every student at Pepperhill Elementary School with a brand new bike. After this successful event, Katie now had an even greater vision.Her vision was to create a nonprofit whose mission was to bring Joy to children in need. To make that a reality, Katie would have to focus her efforts full time on this new venture, which meant stepping away from teaching. In June 2017, she got to work on building the dream of Going Places, which involved rallying the community around her cause. It was important to Katie that her supporters understood why there was a need for Joy in these children’s lives.Numerous organizations focus on providing the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter, yet one thing often overlooked for children is their social-emotional need for Joy. For many kids living in poverty, it is when they get home from school that the real stress begins. So why a bike?These kids can live in less-than-desirable and unpredictable circumstances and a bike provides them with a sense of freedom and escape. It also builds self-worth by being the first item of value they can call their own. A bike can restore the innocence of childhood that many have had taken away.A person may have all of the basic "needs" in life, but what kind of life is one without Joy? What kind of adult will a child grow up to be if they have lacked Joy?Going Places invites everyone in their community to join them on this ride of providing Joy to these children in need and letting them know that they deserve to go places in life.They're Going Places, Wanna Come?

Meeting Charleston

#UnitingCharleston | Katie Blomquist - Going Places Nonprofit

Kristin Graziano is a highly decorated career Law Enforcement Professional, who has dedicated her life to the service of others. Kristin and her family are active members of Circular Congregational Church in Charleston, where Kristin serves voluntarily as the Director of Security. Kristin coaches the College of Charleston Women’s Rugby team and believes physical and mental toughness on the field and in life, breed compassionate and caring young adults. Also, Kristin is a successful real estate investor and has built a comfortable life through grit, determination and creating win-win environments for stakeholders. Kristin serves as a volunteer for Crescent Hospice. She looks forward to serving beyond the call as the next Sheriff of Charleston County.

#UnitingCharleston | Kristin Graziano - Candidate Charleston County Sheriff 2020

Joe Cunningham proudly represents South Carolina’s First Congressional District. The First District encompasses South Carolina’s Lowcountry, including Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Kiawah, and Hilton Head. Joe is a proud father and husband and is serving his first term in the United States Congress.Joe currently serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. The Committee on Natural Resources oversees federal conservation programs, establishes renewable energy sources, and critically to the Lowcountry, monitors offshore oil and gas development. The Lowcountry's vibrant natural resources are vital to its economy and way of life, and Joe is proud to use his seat at the table to work to protect them. South Carolina's First Congressional District has the highest amount of veterans in the state of South Carolina. Joe is honored to serve on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and ensure Lowcountry veterans and their families receive the best and most reliable care, services, and benefits. Prior to his election to Congress, Joe was an attorney and an ocean engineer. In Congress, Joe’s priorities include reinstating the ban on offshore drilling off the Atlantic coast, infrastructure investment, protecting and creating Lowcountry jobs, combating climate change and lowering the cost of health care and prescription drugs. As a former ocean engineer, Joe knows firsthand how destructive drilling for oil can be to a coastline and is committed to protecting South Carolina’s coastline and economy from offshore drilling. Joe has spent his life working with others to get things done and is committed to breaking through the political tribalism facing Washington.Joe attended the College of Charleston, obtained his B.S. in Ocean Engineering from Florida Atlantic University in 2005,  and his J.D. from Northern Kentucky University in 2014. He currently lives on James Island with his wife, Amanda, their son, Boone, and their dog, Teddy.

Meeting Joe Cunningham | U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District

Peyton Raybon is a graduating senior at Wando High School and an active member at Seacoast Church. She is a photographer with the Wando Tribal Tribune newspaper and a former captain on the Wando cheer team. Petyon sits down and tells us how she is active and protesting for change. She thinks some of the best places to start are both physical and emotional training for police officers, along with conversations in your home between your family, especially with children. She also walks us through getting gassed at the 4pm Marion Square protest on Sunday 5/31. 

#UnitingCharleston | Peyton Raybon

My name is KJ Kearney and I’m a native and current resident of North Charleston, SC.•HISTORICALLY BLACK - I graduated from one of the greatest HBCUs to ever exist, South Carolina State University (@scstate1896) where I played football and was a member of the University’s very first Honors Program class.•I HAVE MY OWN DAY (KINDA) - In 2018 I wrote a proclamation for RED RICE DAY which was approved by the City of Charleston. The proclamation was created to formally recognize the culinary contributions of my enslaved ancestors to the city.•(RETIRED) SNEAKERHEAD - I was an avid collector of sneakers. At one point, I had about 200 pairs in my possession. That’s still low to other sneaker enthusiasts but hella higher than most people (BONUS: my favorite sneaker color is grey).•SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT - This year I was given the exclusive “EXPERT” badge at the Charleston Wine + Food Festival (@chswineandfood) because of my knowledge on Gullah Geechee culture and cuisine. Even hosted an event for them called “Soul Stroll”. You should have been there—shit was lit!•BLACK FOOD MATTERS - So the purpose of #BlackFoodFridays is to encourage everyone to support Black owned restaurants, chefs, caterers, and producers every Friday. That’s why I’m always shouting out different restaurants and food creatives on this page.•NONPROFIT LOADING - Because of the support I’ve been given, in such a short period of time, I have been able to donate meals to essential workers in both Charleston and North Charleston. 125 to be specific. And it’s part of the reason why I’m starting a nonprofit to help facilitate this work.

#UnitingCharleston | KJ Kearney

Chris Ranere and wife Nicole moved to Mt. Pleasant from the Midwest, where they both worked for a large software company. As 9-to-5ers are wont to do, the couple decided they were worn out from the "work hard, play hard" mantra of their job. Ranere says the beer bug bit him when he ordered a home brewing kit. "I studied electrical engineering and I started writing my own recipes. I have this mindset where I like to tinker and play, it was fun looking into the science." The Raneres did their research, Chris took on an assistant brewing position at Two Blokes to learn everything thing he could about the production side of things, and they lined up their financials. They were ready to throw their hat in the ring.Mary Scott Hardaway - Charleston City Paper

Meeting Chris + Nicole | Indigo Reef Brewing Company

Liz Martin is the founder of The Charleston Weekender & co-founder of Cannonborough Collective.  Everything got started in November 2015 as an online blog and shop designed to give you weekend feels all week long.  What's better than living every day like it's the weekend!?  Liz has done a little dabbling in A LOT of things along her crazy entrepreneurial journey- from speech therapy to interior decorating to opening a brick and mortar store in 2017.  She loves sharing the knowledge she has learned along the way with other bosses that are on their own entrepreneurial path!  In 2017, Liz began speaking at conferences and for small groups.  Hopefully you'll find that the Charleston Weekender products and blog (everything from entrepreneur tips to travel posts) help you make every day feel a little more like the weekend!  

Meeting Liz Martin | Charleston Weekender

We met up with Chris Winn, co-owner of Tradesman Brewing, to share what they've seen over the past few months during the shut down, how breweries in the Charleston area are coming together to help each other and how they plan to re-open safely in the temperamental world of COVID.

Meeting Chris Winn | Tradesman Brewing

We sat down with Judd Baker, owner of  CryoEvolution. Cryotherapy has taken the concept of ice baths to another level, making recovery much faster and much more effective due to the lower temperatures.Extreme cold temperatures help the body recover quicker. Body temperature, blood flow and inflammation are immediately reduced, accelerating recovery and reducing pain. The effects can last for days.

Meeting Judd Baker | Cryo Evolution

Christian Senger sat down with us during the COVID pandemic to offer some inside and updates about what has been happening in Charleston County. 

Meeting Christian Senger | Holy City Sinner

Meeting Craig Conover | Sewing Down South | Bravo's Southern Charm

http://www.stswear.comAfter being diagnosed with bone marrow cancer, STS Wear co-founder, Mike Nicholson recently went through intense chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.  Coming out the hospital he was placed on immunosuppressant medications.  This places him in the “high risk” population.  During his recovery he noticed that he kept putting his hands on his face.  In an effort to modify this behavior, he put a rubber ring and wristband on to remind himself not to touch his face and to keep distance from others.  It worked, so he wanted to get the word out and help others do the same, a few days later, Stop The Spread Wear was born.  If we can help just one person Stop The Spread, we have succeeded in our mission.

Meeting Mike + Trisha Nicholson | Stop the Spread Wear

Matt believes that anyone can build a better business and live a better life at the same time. It does not matter where you are now or what you are currently doing, you have the opportunity to put yourself on the path towards success. He's learned a lot in his professional career which ranges from Wall Street to Main Street, but the most important thing he's learned is that we should never wait to set ourselves in the right direction to achieve our vision.Matt's current areas of expertise are natural gas vehicles and real estate. He is co-founder of Adsorbed Natural Gas Products, Inc. where they are developing on-board, low-pressure adsorbed natural gas storage technology to bring affordable, clean energy to the automotive world. He is also a real estate business coach with Ninja Coaching where he connects with all different people looking to grow their own business while maintaining an enjoyable lifestyle.Matt is also the co-host of the Ninja Coaching Coast To Coast podcast, a podcast dedicating to real estate, entrepreneurship, and Ninja Selling.If you want to talk shop, get in a solid workout (maintaining a healthy business involves maintaining a healthy lifestyle) or if you just want to say “hey,” drop him a note and tell him a little bit about yourself. He's incredible!

Meeting Matt Bonelli | Ninja Coaching

Today we have a special guest for you. You may know him as a reality TV star on the local Southern Charm or maybe you are one of his 800K followers on Instagram. We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Shep Rose and talk about everything from his favorite Howard Stern personalities to Brooks Koepka to the shame of begging celebrities to come on your podcast. We hope you enjoy meeting Shep as much as we did! 

Meeting Shepard Rose | Reality TV + Local Restaurant/Bar Owner + Author

Nicole here with Meeting Charleston. With more than a decade of experience in the Lowcountry, Emmy award-winning meteorologist Josh Marthers, the man helps you plan for the day ahead each morning on News 2 Today, joined us for an interview. For obvious reasons following the hurricane scare in the fall of 2019 we were very excited about having Josh on the show. He’s funny and smart and charismatic and we have so many similar interests. We loved having him on. Turns out the first ¼ of the interview has a loud and obnoxious unexplained popping sound. After sending the file to 4 different sound geniuses our only option was to cut it completely. The rest of the interview is just as good or better than the beginning, but we are missing some quality Marther’s insight and we are saddened by that. This interview has been long awaited and the delays stem back to October. Without further adieu , here is Josh Marthers!!! 

Meeting Josh Marthers | WCBD News 2

The lowcountry's movers, leaders and shakers! Everybody has a story and we are here to help them tell it. #meetingcharleston

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