Columbia Salutes Black History - Jean Sanders Hopkins
Jean Sanders Hopkins (1931 - present)
Columbia Housing Salutes Black History
Columbia Housing is proud to celebrate Black History Month by highlighting notable figures that impacted our organization and community.
Jean Sanders Hopkins was born in Lykesland, S.C. on April 19, 1931, and grew up in the Waverly and Saxon Homes communities of Columbia. From her youth to her devoted career in nursing, she has always been a high achiever and a firm believer in excellence and accomplishment. Hopkins has more than 30 years of professional nursing experience. She was one of the first black nurses hired by Columbia's Dorn Veterans Administration Hospital retired from her position as Assistant Chief of Nursing at in 1993, after working at several other hospitals and healthcare facilities in South Carolina and Georgia.
Hopkins has received a number of awards for her work as a community health advocate including the Woman of Achievement Award from the SC Governors Commission on Women, the YWCA Twin Diamond Award, the Chi Eta Phi Sorority Inc. Helen S. Miler Award, and the SC Conference of the NAACP Woman of the Year Award.
A former resident of Saxon Homes, Jean S. Hopkins was inducted into the Columbia Housing Wall of Fame in 1989 for service to the community as a long-time health advocate. She is a lifetime member of the NAACP, James R. Clare Sickle Cell Anmenia Foundations, Book T. Washington Foundation Board of Directors, Nation Youth Sports Program Advisory Board, Ladies Auxiliary Post 4262, Wateree Community Actions, Inc., Advisory board, and the Caring Alternative Advisory Board.
Hopkins serves as a role model for others by enhancing the image of nurses as competent professionals. One of her favorite sayings is, "If your mind can conceive it, if your heart can believe it, then you can achieve it."
Columbia Housing celebrates its 90th Anniversary in 2024. We currently serve over 16,000 individuals and families in the City of Columbia, Richland County, and the City of Cayce.
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Special thanks to Historic Columbia for their work to capture the early history of Columbia Housing.
