Callawassie Island, a caring community with plenty of heart, is set to welcome 1,000 walkers and runners on Saturday, September 26th for LoCo Motion. This annual fundraiser for Breast Cancer Research takes place over three days with three different Lowcountry islands providing a scenic ten-mile course for the walk/run. The event’s 2015 goal is $30,000, with every penny of registration and sponsorship fees donated to breast care providers for life-saving screening, treatment and research.

Callawassie will host Day 2 of the event, as it did in 2013, and residents are eager to say, “Welcome. We’re glad you’re back.” They will decorate their mailboxes with pink bows, offer roadside cheers and support to participants, and come together at the clubhouse in the afternoon to celebrate the event’s success. They are pleased to contribute to the cause by sharing the beauty of their island’s landscape, waterways and wildlife. They are also pleased to introduce others to the island they love.

With world-class Fazio golf and a full complement of amenities, Callawassie has the expected essentials. But it has extras too that set it apart.

Surrounded by the Colleton and Okatie Rivers and the Chechessee Creek, Callawassie Island was the first South Carolina community certified as a “Community Wildlife Habitat” by the National Wildlife Federation. Today, Callawassie still holds that certification and is one of only four communities in the state that do. Coexisting with nature—with egrets and herons, bluebirds and painted buntings, and the thriving ecosystem of the salt marsh—has always been important here. For residents, this means colorful sights to see and pleasant songs to hear on a morning walk or at home, from the deck or patio.

The legendary architect Tom Fazio honored the island landscape when he designed Callawassie’s 27-hole championship course.  As one of his early layouts, this classic Lowcountry course meanders intimately along the rivers and salt marsh in a way that environmental regulations made difficult in later years. Visual drama is natural, not manmade. Challenge and playability are finely balanced. With a recent $4 million renovation, the three distinct nines play like new.

On the island’s 880 acres, homes and homesites are windows to the marsh, rivers, and golf course. Homes are priced from the $300s to over $1 million, homesites from the $20s. Views and values, including waterfront, are among the best in the area.

Given the beauty of the surrounding waterways, it’s little wonder that Callawassie is home to a large, enthusiastic kayak club. Residents also enjoy fishing and crabbing from four community docks. They gather at their River Club or Clubhouse, play tennis on six Har-Tru courts, and enjoy two pools and a Fitness Center.

Ideally located, Callawassie Island is just 35 minutes from Hilton Head, yet a world away from its tourists and traffic. For convenience and charm, Bluffton and Beaufort are only 15 minutes away, historic Savannah, just 30.

For more information on Callawassie, visit CallawassieIsland.com, where you’ll also catch a sense of the excitement and enthusiasm of this community at work. When the cause is breast cancer and the event is LoCo Motion, Callawassie is at its best.