Burton-Pack Elementary School has received a $25,000 grant from Target as part of the national retailer’s Give With Target initiative.

The Richland 1 school is among 25 nationwide to receive one of the grants to buy supplies for the school year.

Target has not restricted how the money can be used, believing schools best know their needs and can buy things they consider most important.

Give With Target is a two-part giving campaign aimed at helping schools as the new school year gets under way. Target is providing $2.5 million in grants to 100 schools as well as $2.5 million in Target gift cards to schools that received votes on the company’s Facebook page.

A healthy dose of reading

Reach Out and Read South Carolina recently received $125,000 from Boeing to expand its reach to some 8,000 children across the state.

Reach Out and Read helps students succeed in school by partnering with doctors to provide books and encouraging families to read together. Doctors in the program talk to families about the importance of reading in a child’s overall development. Waiting rooms are stocked with reading tips, literature-inspired posters and books.

“Childhood development experts tell us that the most important thing that parents can do to prepare their children to succeed in school is to read aloud to them every day,” said Earl Martin Phalen, Reach Out and Read chief executive officer. “Reading helps expose kids to new words and new worlds, and it helps bring families closer together. I want to thank Boeing for their strong support of early literacy and of evidence-based programs working to support children in South Carolina.”

Reach Out and Read has 113 programs across South Carolina that serve more than 115,000 children each year.

Boost to dental health

The Rite Aid Foundation recently gave $5,000 to Columbia Oral Health Clinic, the only nonprofit dental clinic in the state serving uninsured and underinsured people living in the Midlands.

The grant will be used to provide dental exams and care to people living with HIV who, because of limited finances, otherwise would not receive dental care.

“Good oral hygiene and proper dental care play a significant role in one’s health and wellness,” said Gayle Rife, manager of The Rite Aid Foundation. “We are proud to support Columbia Oral Health Clinic and thank them for the dental care they provide to those in need to people across South Carolina.”

The clinic provides free, state-of-the-art preventive dental services to qualifying residents.

“Thanks to the support from The Rite Aid Foundation, we are able to continue providing high quality oral health care services for adults living with HIV,” said Bernice Tucker, Columbia Oral Health Clinic director.

Help for the homeless

Members of Columbia’s faith community and others will gather Thursday evening to discuss steps to help homeless families in the Midlands.

A representative of Family Promise, a faith-based program that operates in more than 170 U.S. cities, will explain how churches and other places of worship can help address the problem of homelessness.

Thursday’s meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in Thompson Hall at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 3200 Trenholm Road. The meeting is open to the public.