Kathy Straughn
A Heart Full of Blessings
May 2026 Issue
by Edwina Hoyle
Photography by Cassidy Dunn Photography
Kathy Straughn grew up in a small town in Alabama where she learned about helping those in need and building a caring community. Her mother died when she was very young, so Kathy lived five years with her loving grandmother, Martha Paramore, an incredible woman who owned a dry goods store. Well-known as always being the first person to respond to anyone in need, she was a giving person, an angel on earth,” Kathy said. “She never asked for anything but helped everyone.” It only makes sense that Kathy was deeply impacted by her grandmother’s generous spirit and has emulated it throughout her life.
When Kathy was 8 years old, an extremely poor family met with tragedy. Thirteen family members were killed when their vehicle was hit by a train. An infant, who was thrown from the vehicle, was the only survivor. Kathy explained that back then, funeral wakes were held in the home. Her grandmother reached out to the living family members to clothe all of them.
“Grandmother clothed everybody. I helped fit sizes for them because she wanted them to be presentable. All of them got everything: pants, socks, underwear, everything to make a complete outfit. She died in 2010 at 95 years old.”
Kathy and her husband, Sam, moved to Bluffton in 2016 from Richmond, Virginia. They made it a practice to hold food drives for Bluffton Self Help and Christmas drives for Family Promise, a non-profit that provides shelter to homeless families.
Kathy believes no one should ever go hungry. At a friend’s suggestion, she researched Little Free Pantries, which inspired her to create Blessing Box of Bluffton in 2024. There are now six Blessing Box locations. “There is 24-hour access, no forms, no applications, just food with dignity. For some people there’s a stigma attached to going to a food pantry, and so many people live paycheck to paycheck. One unexpected incident in a month and people can fall on hard times, like fixing a car or medical bills,” Kathy said.
“Within the first month, from the first location at Sea Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, I got a letter from a single mother with three children. She said by the end of each month her money is gone, and she can’t get by. The letter made me cry. I know we feed four homeless men. I’ve met every one of them and talked to them. I understand, and they confide in me. We have built a bond and a connection. They come on the days I go to the boxes. They don’t have a way to cook food. They need ready-to-eat food like packaged tuna and crackers, fruit, and one of them loves Goldfish. Only one of the men has a hot plate to heat things up.”
Anyone can visit a Blessing Box to give or receive with no questions asked. The mission is to fight food insecurity. The boxes are filled every day by five volunteers who pick up the food from Kathy and Sam’s garage. “They are my five jewels!” Kathy said.
“This fills our hearts with joy and gives us purpose and a reason not to sit in front of the TV and worry about everything. Sam says I’m the leader, and he just follows my lead. I call him my “inventory control specialist” because he handles the donation orders that come in from Amazon and other donors.” Sam also painted and installed the boxes.
“When we work together, even the smallest acts can make a difference,” Kathy said. She posts every day on the organization’s Facebook page. “If I need cereal, I make a post, and I get it.”
Blessing Box was voted Best Non-Profit Charity in the 2025 Best of Bluffton Awards. “I was so honored because it was voted on by the community,” Kathy said. “Blessing Box is completely crowd-sourced. We totally rely on community donations and don’t take any pay. People are kind, generous, and caring. The Blessing Box of Bluffton is bigger than we are. When we all come together, we can ensure no one in Bluffton will have to wonder where their next meal will come from. No one should ever go hungry.”
In her grandmother’s footsteps, Kathy is now teaching her two granddaughters that not everybody has enough food, and that it’s important to help others. Ten-year-old Olive and 8-year-old Ellie love to fill the boxes, keeping the family legacy of helping those in need going. And that is the beauty of us!
Up Close:
• When Kathy was 15, she met Sam in high school, and their first date was on May 2, 1969. They fell in love! She lived with her father, and he planned on moving. She didn’t want to move away from Sam, so they eloped. She was 16 and Sam was 19. They recently celebrated their 56th anniversary.
• They eloped on a Friday night, came back on Sunday, and returned to school on Monday. They married in Georgia, spent the weekend in Florida, and were both scared to go home, but eventually both their families “came around.”
On June 6 from 4-7 p.m. at The Heyward House in Bluffton, Blessing Box will host Can-A-Palooza, a free Celebration of Generosity and Community Spirit. Admission is a bag of non-perishable food. There will be a DJ, a kids’ bouncy house and craft area, face painting, and free iced tea and lemonade. The Bluffton Police Department will cook free hot dogs, and there will be a silent auction. For information about donating, volunteering, or more Blessing Box of Bluffton events, visit www.blessingboxbluffton.com