Home Telecom was awarded the 2021 Outstanding Corporation of the Year award by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), presented to them at the National Philanthropy Day Celebration at the Charleston Gaillard Center.

The Outstanding Corporation Award honors Home Telecom as a philanthropic community leader whose financial support, mentorship, corporate investment in internet access and economic development, and motivation of others, is a beacon of true community support and volunteer work across the Tri-County area.

Home Telecom supports a variety of causes including the Carolina Youth Development Center, Dorchester Children’s Advocacy Center, Trident United Way, American Red Cross, American Heart Association, HALOS, Clap Your Hands, Habitat for Humanity of Berkeley County, Camp Happy Days, and Ark of SC – to name a few. Through the Home Community Fund, Home Telecom awarded $65,000 this year to 27 non-profit organizations bringing the cumulative total to more than $407,000 since the grant was established in 2005.

Home Telecom will be featured in the November issue of the Charleston Regional Business Journal along with testimonials from several non-profit organizations they have supported this past year.

“We started serving Berkeley County in the early 1990s and Home Telecom was one of the very first companies to step up and recognize the need for our services in the county, and to be willing to put their money and their talent to the organization,” said Dan Daniel, Vice President of Development for the Carolina Youth Development Center. “We have been a partner with them for now 26 years.”

Home Telecom was originally born as a service to the community by setting up six telephones in Moncks Corner in 1904, a fact that is not forgotten by Chloe Knight Tonney, President and CEO of Trident United Way.

“We now have leadership in Home Telecom whose great grandparents created the company so they have a corporate and social DNA that can never be erased,” Tonney says.

“There is more than one way to do good,” she continues. “When COVID-19 happened, Home Telecom … created a fund with Trident United Way to help our neighbors pay internet bills…. They encouraged another corporate entity to come forward and help pay utility bills, creating a virtuous cycle that continues when one entity, one person steps forward and decided to make a difference.”

Tonney continues, “So, when the people of Home Telecom think about corporate social responsibility, it’s more than community and engagement. It’s more than a talking point, it’s actually what they do.”

According to Becky Ellison, Recreation Director for the Town of Moncks Corner, Home Telecom’s $250,000 donation to their namesake Home Telecom Miracle League Field, will impact people not just in the town of Moncks Corner, but in Berkeley County as a whole.

Ellison continues, “Home Telecom has always been willing to step in, no matter what the need is. Not only do they support us financially, but they will also coach a team, or be involved with setting up a booth or volunteer. It is a total commitment.”

“I guess maybe it is in our DNA and an integral part of our corporate culture,” said Home Telecom CEO William S. Helmly. “But it is also part of our responsibility to a community that supports us year after year.”

Helmly continues, “We are humbled and honored by this recognition and appreciate all the good these organizations we support do for our community. It always comes back to the true meaning of community, and what that meant to my great grandmother, is still strong in us today.”