The entire state of South Carolina falls within the Diocese of Charleston, so Catholic Charities Diocese of Charleston is effectively a statewide agency, running refugee resettlement, immigration legal services, emergency food and housing, counseling, and disaster response. Refugees from Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other countries have been resettled particularly in Columbia and Greenville. Here is how the agency works and how to support it.
Because South Carolina has a single diocese, this Catholic Charities covers everything from the Upstate to the coast. Refugee resettlement is concentrated where families have been placed, mainly Columbia and Greenville, while immigration legal services see demand from the state's growing Latino workforce in construction, agriculture, and food processing.
Along the coast, the agency also serves Lowcountry communities, including African American and Gullah Geechee populations whose cultural and economic circumstances call for more than a one-size-fits-all program. Counseling and disaster response round out the portfolio, and every service is open to people of all faiths. Disaster response is not an afterthought in a hurricane-exposed state; the statewide structure lets the agency shift resources toward the coast when a storm makes landfall.
Emergency food programs at Catholic Charities operate alongside Harvest Hope and Lowcountry Food Bank as part of South Carolina's broader food network; the agency is a distribution point rather than a competitor to the food banks. The November 2025 SNAP crisis pushed emergency food demand up at its programs statewide, and elevated need tends to linger well after the headlines fade. Families who drained savings or fell behind on bills during a benefits gap do not recover the moment payments resume.
That makes food-program gifts especially practical here. A cash donation lets the agency buy exactly what its pantries are short on in a given week.
Donate online through the official page at catholic-doc.org/donate. Recurring monthly gifts, even small ones, are what let an agency plan staffing and food purchasing instead of reacting month to month.
Volunteer needs vary by office and region across the state. Check the official site for current openings near you, and expect an application and screening for roles that work directly with clients or refugee families.
A two-minute check protects your gift: verify 501(c)(3) status via the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search at apps.irs.gov, then review the charity's Charity Navigator page. For donations of $250 and up, keep the written acknowledgment for your tax records.
Sources: Catholic Charities Diocese of Charleston official site (catholic-doc.org); our South Carolina charity guide research. Retrieved July 2026. We are not affiliated with Catholic Charities Diocese of Charleston and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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