Man creates “It’s Raining Education” campaign to collect rain gear for Lowcountry students

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Steven Harper was driving to work when he noticed something on the side of the road.

It was a group of children waiting at their bus stop as usual, the only difference being that it was rainy and not everyone had an umbrella, which gave Steven an idea.

“It was probably about eight kids out there. Some of them were huddled around trying to stand under trees and they were all getting soaked..so I turned around and brought them an umbrella,” said Steven.

He said, although, they were hesitant at first, they eventually took the umbrella and appeared to be more comfortable with not having to find shelter under a tree.

This moment of kindness turned into something even bigger as Steven created his “It’s Raining Education” campaign.

This campaign allows anyone to donate money that will go towards purchasing umbrellas, rain jackets, and rain boots for any children in need throughout the Lowcountry.

He has reached out to several local area schools including: Westview Primary School, Marrington Elementary School, and a few others as he tries to find potential partners.

The idea is for each school, that participates, to be given a certain amount of rain gear that will go towards students who are in need of them.

First, Steven needs to reach his preliminary goal of $500 on his GoFundMe and then he will be one step closer to the distribution.

He said he hopes to leave a positive impact on each of the kids that are touched by his campaign.

“Just kind of showing them that people definitely care about the community and want to help them get an education and stay dry while doing it. That way, they can focus better and hopefully it can help bring them happiness,” said Steven on the importance of something as simple as staying dry.

With all of the negativity that has been seen over the last year, Steven wants to this be the start of something even bigger that can continue to help his community going into the future.

“It’s pretty important. I’ve gone through some things the past couple years and so I’m just trying to give back to the community and make a better place and find, basically, my calling and I think starting this is a good step for me to be able to give back.”

Steven Harper

Steven said he would also accept donated slightly used umbrellas from anyone interested in helping “It’s Raining Education”.