A 30-Year Journey: The Evolution of Greater Greenwood United Ministry

In the Beginning

Greater Greenwood United Ministry (GGUM) began serving folks in need on January 30, 1995, operating from temporary quarters at South Main Street Baptist Church.

Founding

GGUM was governed by a Board of Directors even back then. South Carolina House of Representatives member John McCravy played a pivotal role in establishing the governing body from the outset.

Initially funded by only 11 local churches, GGUM provided financial assistance to people facing the crisis of an eviction or utility disconnection. That operation became known as The Crisis Ministry and would later settle in its current location at 1404 Edgefield Street.

Free Medical Clinic and Pharmacy

2 years later, in 1997, at the urging of Self Memorial Hospital (SRH’s original name), GGUM expanded its services to include a Free Medical Clinic for uninsured patients without Medicare or Medicaid to address the need in the Greenwood area and to reduce costly Emergency Room visits by uninsured patients for episodic care.

Around the same time, GGUM’s in-house pharmacy opened its doors and started issuing prescriptions Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings.

Funding Sources

Over the years, GGUM created its own original and memorable fundraisers, including “Walk with the Docs,” “Medicine Chase,” and its now 11-year-old record-breaking and signature fundraising event “Music for Ministry.”

GGUM Critical Funders

Self Regional Health Care, 68 local church partners, granting organizations, corporate and private donors, and its own Signature Fundraising Event, “Music for Ministry,” which is now in its 11th year and being hosted by one of GGUM’s partner churches, NewSpring.

Here and Now

Today, GGUM’s Crisis Ministry operates daily, excluding Wednesdays, and the Free Medical Clinic is open every day except Fridays, offering evening sessions every Thursday.

In recent years, GGUM also added a mobile component to its Free Medical Clinic. In partnership with Self Regional Healthcare’s Health Express, GGUM now brings its Free Medical Clinic on the road, traveling to Saluda monthly to see uninsured patients. Discussions are ongoing about possible new locations for the mobile operation.

Today, GGUM’s in-house pharmacy operates with multiple pharmacists, pharmacy techs, and pharmacy residents daily, with a few scheduling exceptions.

Over the years, GGUM has partnered with numerous organizations, including Self Regional Healthcare’s physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and resident doctors, as well as student nurses from Lander University and Piedmont Technical College.

Led by only three Executive Directors in its 30-year history, GGUM has joined forces with other nonprofit organizations serving Greenwood residents, including The Lions Clubs, Healthy Learners, Greenwood Pathway House, and The Salvation Army, among others.

Former GGUM Executive Directors Toni Ross and Dan Flint.

Today, in its 30th year, GGUM serves thousands, with more than 800 patients calling its Free Medical Clinic their medical home. The Free Medical Clinic has expanded to include primary care, internal medicine, gynecology, lab work, diabetic education, dental extractions, and eye examinations.

In 2024, the Crisis Ministry relocated to 1409 Edgefield Street, just across the street from GGUM’s original building. The recently renovated, donated former garage, where it now serves Crisis Ministry clients, allows the original 1404 Edgefield Street building to comfortably house GGUM’s Free Medical Clinic and Pharmacy as services expand.

The Crisis Ministry rescues at least 600 families each year from evictions and power cut-offs, and operates an Emergency Food Pantry, routinely offering non-perishable food for families seeking assistance.

Volunteers are the backbone of GGUM’s workforce and outnumber paid employees. Volunteers donate more than 3,200 hours each year, a $130,000 value.

GGUM is governed by a 16-member Board of Directors, which oversees its Executive Director, Rosemary Bell since 2014, who manages a 6-member paid staff, a team of volunteers, day-to-day operations, outreach, grant writing, fundraising, and still managed to find time to make a Television appearance promoting "Music for Ministry" on WYFF-TV 4 last year!

That’s the gist of 1995 through 2025.

The Future

Looking forward, the Ministry sees its future exactly as God plans it, just as it has been his plan that has unfolded over the last three decades!

More History will be made. We will wait on the Lord!