Growing Hope

04/30/2026

At Growing Hope, we work hard every day to support children and families across South Carolina. One of the most critical times of a young person's life is when they are aging out of the foster care system. This is why Leaphart Place was built 20 years ago. To provide safe housing coupled with support. Mental health therapy, budgeting, cooking, obtaining a G.E.D., managing social relationships, etc. There are not nearly enough places for these kids to land, but we know we wouldn't exist either without our generous funders.

Thank you to the Lipscomb Foundation for grant funds supporting these young people in building their skills and education to be successful independently!

Thank you to Dominion Energy for funds to cover rent gaps and ensure immediate and uninterrupted mental health services!

Thank you Carolina Children's Home for supporting Leaphart Place, year in and year out, ensuring every young person we serve has the resources they need to thrive.

Thank you Amazon for donating food so our residents have full bellies for work and school.

Thank you to all in our community who have contributed to Leaphart Place, in the past or considering support in the future. Leaphart is a reflection of how incredibly beautiful community can be and how powerful it is when we come together.

If you would like to learn more or donate to support these young adults who have aged out of foster care, explore more here!

04/15/2026

Midlands Gives is live, and we would be so grateful for your support.

At Growing Hope, we work every day to provide safety, stability, and hope for children, youth, and families across the Midlands. Through programs like Strengthening Families, Family Resource Connection and Preservation Services, and Leaphart Place, we walk alongside people during some of the hardest moments in their lives and help create a softer place to land.

There are so many deserving nonprofits to support today, and we would be honored to be one of them. Even a gift of $5 can make a meaningful difference and help us continue this important work.

Give here:

The mission of Growing Hope is to center children, support families, and brighten our communities with hope! We believe in transforming child welfare with innovation and courage so every child and family is safer, stronger, and more hopeful.Growing Hope provides an array

04/10/2026

What's better than playing golf at the beautiful Woodcreek Club golf course?! Knowing the proceeds of your tickets help kids in foster care! Get your friends together and meet up for some golf at an incredible price!

Get your Colonial Life Charity Classic Tickets at The Woodcreek Club in Elgin by CLCC - Growing Hope from Tixr.

03/16/2026

Being featured in a segment from Empowered by Meg Ryan to raise awareness about foster care was an incredible end to 2025! We're excited to share this final video and hope that it moves people from curiosity to exploration, from a closed door to a cracked one.

The child welfare system was never meant to operate separately from society; it was designed to thrive within it. Entering foster care can be the worst day of a child's or parent's life. But when communities shift toward engagement and systems respond with collaboration and care, the life of a child changes. A 6 year old little girl goes to bed that night with her 12 year old sister by her side. A 15 year old boy goes to school the next day, not a new school...HIS school....where normalcy and comfort live. A 10 year old entering care is placed with a family that is selected because they can meet all of the unique needs she has, not just because they have "an open bed." A 17 year old, days from his 18th birthday, knows he will be safe, loved, and HOUSED, even when the digits of his age represent an assumed preparedness for the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFiAkGcG7nA&feature=youtu.be

Curious how you can help? Reach out to us. We'd love to share some ideas www.wearegrowinghope.org

At Growing Hope, we believe children do best when they can remain connected to the people, places, and communities that matter most to them. This video explo...

03/12/2026

When there are more teens in foster care than foster families willing to accept them into their homes, what happens? Where do they go? What is the damage, to each of their young hearts, to their futures, and to our community at large?

If the answer upsets you, it should. Take a small step forward today to learn more about the need in your community. We can tell you how many teenagers are in care in your area. Yes, YOUR neighborhood. Hits different, doesn't it?

Reach out today. No commitment. No pressure. Just information.

02/26/2026

Leaphart Place residents are doing the hard work of building independence: showing up, setting goals, and taking steps forward. But there’s one practical barrier that stops a lot of progress: transportation.

Driver’s Ed is a game-changer. A license can mean getting to a job interview, making it to a shift, keeping a doctor’s appointment, or simply not having to depend on someone else to get through the day. It costs $400 to sponsor one resident through Driver’s Ed. Every donation ($5, $20, $50) adds up. Every share helps us reach someone who can give. This is truly a community effort.

If you’re able, donate using: wearegrowinghope.org/donate

Let’s help someone get the keys to their next chapter.

02/13/2026

11 years old.

483 days in foster care.

19 foster placements.

6 in the 3 months before he was placed with Growing Hope.

Today, he is stable. He is supported. He is wanted. He is loved.

Is foster parenting always easy? Of course not. But it’s nothing compared to what these kids are carrying. And at Growing Hope, we center children. We lead with what’s best for them, and we ask ourselves, every day: what can we do to help this child feel safe, seen, and supported?

We don’t just talk the talk; we make sure our foster families have the training, coaching, and real-time support to do this well. Because trauma is gonna’ come knocking with every child entering care. Sometimes it’s soft, other times loud. Sometimes it’s on a lazy Sunday, sometimes it’s while you’re on the phone with your boss. Sometimes you see it coming, other times it knocks the wind out of you. And when it comes, we don’t punish it or fear it. We meet it with support, with steadiness, and with love. Most importantly, we stay. Because trauma multiplies when it’s met with fear, and begins to loosen its grip when it’s met with safety and care.

We only partner with foster families who show this same commitment. Fostering is not for everyone, and that’s OK. But if you've ever been curious about fostering, ask yourself: can you be the family who, 19 placements later, still chooses commitment?

When you have a calling, answer it. Someone needs you.

This journey isn’t easy, but it’s life-changing. There will be highs and lows, and you’ll learn and grow alongside the children and youth you support. We’re not just looking for an open bed in a home; we’re looking for families who are trauma-informed (or willing to become so), committed t...

01/14/2026

Calling all Richland, Lexington, and Sumter families!!

Have you heard about the Strengthening Families Program (SFP)? Anyone can sign up to be part of this experience designed to build up relationships and communication within families so that the family unit and everyone in it is stronger. Let’s face it, it’s hard being a kid and it’s hard being a parent! This free program (with giveaways, a meal & childcare!!) helps make it a little less hard.

Find out more at https://www.wearegrowinghope.org/strengthening-families and register today!

12/23/2025

12/10/2025

These are beautifully packaged Christmas gifts for children and youth in foster care. But inside these bags, there is so much more than just presents. There is presence.

Inside these bags there is commitment, compassion, long days, late nights, big tears, bigger hugs, joy, pain, connection, love, and HOPE.

Thank you to all those who have shined light in our communities and brightened them with hope. Thank you for the presents and the presence.