Dahlheim near one of the now 250-plus free pantries she conceived of in 2017.
Written By Lauren Brooks Johnson
Portrait By Taylor Jordan Krauser
Katie Dahlheim isn’t creative in the way of an artist—“Ask me to sketch, and you’ll get stick figures,” she laughs—but in her can-do world view. Where a painter uses brushstrokes, this pragmatic philanthropist draws on simple yet bold ideas. As creator of the Lowcountry Blessing Box Project’s network of charitable pantries and an organizer of free community laundry days, Dahlheim has helped develop uncomplicated solutions to social issues like food and hygiene insecurity. Though she now works as an attorney for Charleston County, her years as a young public defender largely shaped her approach. “I got a glimpse into deeply impoverished people’s lives and the struggle of being without resources or a support system,” reflects the West Virginia native, who landed in Charleston following her graduation from law school in 2007.
The impact of Dahlheim’s good works ripple far beyond the edges of any gallery frame. Take, for example, the young man who trekked back and forth to Reynolds Laundromat in North Charleston during one the group’s free laundry days to wash sheets and towels for neighborhood seniors. Or the 250-plus Blessing Boxes that volunteers independently built and anonymously stock with nonperishable foods, basic toiletries, and baby supplies for anyone in need.
If the community is Dahlheim’s canvas, then motherhood is her muse. “I wanted to create a tool to help teach my kids to be kind,” says the mother of two daughters, now ages 12 and nine. “We’re all just trying to raise good humans.” That thinking also inspired the formation of Catch Up on Lunch, a school lunch debt relief fundraiser that Dahlheim helped introduce before the pandemic along with iHeart Hungry Kids executive director Josh Silverman and McKensie Kish of the Queen Street Hospitality family. And in 2021, the mission-driven optimist self-published her how-to book, Building a Kindness Army, to guide others in establishing Blessing Box Projects in their own communities. “It’s uncomplicated and can be duplicated anywhere,” she explains. “That’s the beauty.”
