On Saturday, September 26, the Stay in Touch Foundation held its inaugural outdoor music and movie night on a lawn in an Irmo neighborhood. Graham Jam Music hosted, and the evening was a benefit for the Call the Moms and Dads listening line, a sister organization of the Stay in Touch Foundation.
The night was also a first of its kind with concert sound. Graham Jam Music has been putting on house concerts in the Midlands for years, intimate shows that spotlight local artists. The Stay in Touch Foundation brings neighbors together with free outdoor movie nights. This was the first time the two came together, a house concert featuring a local artist followed by a movie, all in one evening, and we made the most of it.
It started the way these things should. Neighbors walked over with snacks to share. Friends drove in from outside the neighborhood. Kids ran through outdoor games on the lawn while the grown-ups set up chairs and blankets. By the time the sun went down, the yard was full of people who hadn’t all known each other an hour earlier.
Then Bobbie Gail, founder of the Stay in Touch Foundation, took the stage for an hour of her original music. When the set ended, the 24-foot screen lit up and everyone settled in with popcorn for a classic film under the stars. For the next hour and a half, nobody looked at a phone. They looked at the screen, and at each other.
Why we do this
These nights are designed to teach something we think the world has forgotten: that community isn’t a thing you have, it’s a thing you practice. Showing up. Sitting next to someone. Sharing a bag of popcorn with a kid you just met. That’s where connection starts, and connection is the foundation of mental health.
It’s also why Call the Moms and Dads exists. The listening line is built for the moment before things get hard, when you’re stressed, or lonely, or just need to say something out loud to a person who will listen. It’s not a crisis line. It’s the call you make so that it never becomes one. A free 24/7 peer support line, built with the University of South Carolina Capstone Program, launching in early 2027. Every dollar raised through the foundation’s events goes toward launching the line and keeping it free.
Thank you to our founding sponsors
None of this happens without the businesses that stepped up first.
Graham Jam Music hosted the evening and ran sound for the music and the film.
Southern Cachet LLC produced the night alongside them.
RaisingSails, the studio that built our website, came in as a Cultivating Connections sponsor.
Fletcher Monuments joined as a Seeds of Support sponsor.
Jenkins Simply Said Counseling joined as a Seeds of Support sponsor.
The Party and Event Store joined as a Seeds of Support sponsor.
Southern Legacy made a donation to help get the launch moving.
Each of these sponsors is on the screen at every event in our series and in the commercial we filmed that night. We’re grateful to be building this with them.
Bring it to your neighborhood
This was the first of many. Together with Graham Jam Music, we’re bringing these low-cost, safe, family-friendly nights to HOAs and neighborhoods across the Midlands through 2027: a local artist on the stage, a good movie on the screen, games for the kids, and your neighbors on the lawn.
If you’d like a music and movie night in your neighborhood, or your business would like to be part of the series, reach out. We’d love to hear from you.
Sponsor the series: thesitfoundation.org/give/sponsor
Host a night or get involved: hello@thesitfoundation.org
See you on the lawn.
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