Can’t take that beach chair home? How to leave it for a Myrtle Beach SC area vacationer

It started with one little chair that had been sitting on the beach for hours.

The chair prompted Faith Heath to start a Facebook group that could connect vacationers with beach items that others can’t take back home or offer them a place to share items they want to get rid of. She started Myrtle Beach Visitors Pay It Forward a year ago and it’s up to more than 3,000 followers.

“I felt bad because all this stuff was being thrown away,” Heath said.

She got the idea for the group after seeing a beach chair by the trash cans. After it became dark and the chair still was unclaimed, she realized that someone had left it behind.

The 51-year-old West Virginia resident has been vacationing in the Myrtle Beach area for years. She would often ask what she could do with all the stuff she couldn’t fit in the car to bring back home.

With three grown children and eight grandchildren, Heath said there were about 15 people who would travel to the Grand Strand for their family vacation.

“(There were) boogie boards, floating devices I was hauling back and forth from West Virginia and that takes up so much room,” Heath said.

In addition, having to buy a new chair or beach item every time, “You’re spending so much money,” Heath said.

She knows that that’s how beach stores make their money, but if the group helps prevent such items from being tossed and helps people connect, Heath is happy.

“Even if it saves you from one beach chair, that’s a beach chair,” she said.