Heartfelt Support: Lowcountry Restaurant Steps Up for St. Helena Shooting Victims’ Families

PORT ROYAL, S.C. () — In a heartfelt gesture, a local business in the Lowcountry is reaching out to support families affected by the tragic mass shooting on St. Helena Island.

GG’s Restaurant and Bar, located in Port Royal, has pledged to donate 10% of this week’s earnings to aid the grieving families who lost loved ones in the recent tragedy.

Proceeds will be equally distributed among the families of the four victims, with disbursements scheduled for Friday. The restaurant aims to assist with unforeseen expenses such as medical bills and funeral costs, or any other needs the families may face.

Co-owner Sarah Christofek, visibly moved, expressed the community’s collective sorrow: “Everyone feels a deep sense of loss over what happened. It’s beyond comprehension. As a community, we must come together to confront such evil, and the best way to do that is by supporting one another.”

“I think I can speak for a lot of people in that everybody feels a type of pain for, what happened,” said co-owner Sarah Christofek, who welded up with tears. “It’s so unimaginable.  And as a community, you need to come together because that is pure evil. And that’s the only way to fight evil is to is to help each other.”

They said the St. Helena community extends across the county, and even some close to their restaurant family were impacted by the shooting.

“We have a couple of people close to us that, you know, have people close to them, and so we’ve got a lot of sides to the emotions of this event, and we just want to help however we can,” said Christofek.

GG’s is one of a few businesses in the area who are helping give back to the families impacted by the shooting.

Christofek believes that if they were in a position where their business was impacted and families were in a tough spot, others in the community would do what they could to help.

“I think it’s important to be a good steward of what you’re given.  And if you’re blessed, you should be a blessing.  And I think if you do that, even if you’re in a tight space, it’ll come back to you.  But if the tables were turned, I would hope that other people would do that for us,” said Christofek.