HALOS receives Sisters of Charity Foundation of SC’s Spring 2023 Systems Level Change Grant

Listen to this article

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – On May 16th, HALOS received a $30,000 grant from the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina. The foundation awards grants to nonprofits that strive to reduce poverty throughout the state of South Carolina and beyond. HALOS was part of the Systems Level Change category.

These grants are intended for organizations that work to influence and guide change in structural systems that have created, sustained, or reinforced the marginalization of families and individuals experiencing poverty in South Carolina. The Sisters of Charity Foundation awarded $475,000 to 18 different organizations in this category.

The mission of HALOS is to promote safe and nurturing homes for children in kinship care. Kinship care occurs when a child cannot remain with their parents and a grandparent, family friend or neighbor steps in to raise the child. The grant from Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina will fund HALOS’ kinship navigation program and other services. “After decades of working with kinship families, we know that these grandparents and other relatives are characterized by a high prevalence of poverty and low educational levels compared with other family arrangements. This makes households truly feel the financial strain when stepping up to care for and raise children” said Jed Dews, Executive Director of HALOS. “Funding from Sisters of Charity allows us to begin leveling the playing field in households across the Tri-County area.”

In this cycle of funding, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina awarded 92 grants totaling $1.4 million to nonprofit organizations across the state. 27 of the 92 organizations to receive a grant are in the Lowcountry, a $375,000 commitment to the region.

“The Sisters of Charity Foundation is proud to support nonprofits in South Carolina that are making a difference in their communities by seeking to address the factors contributing to poverty,” said Donna Waites, President of Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina. “Through the support of these grants and the strength of working together, we believe we can build a stronger and more compassionate community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”

Macon Lovelace, the Chairman of the Board of Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, added, “these grants represent our unwavering commitment to addressing the root causes of poverty. Along with our core values, our grantmaking is rooted in humility, transparency, equity, and trust, and we are proud to partner with such vital organizations in this cycle.”

These Cycle 1 grant recipients serve all 46 South Carolina counties, and many of these nonprofits provide services across the state.

ABOUT HALOS

HALOS serves kinship families. Kinship care occurs when a child cannot be with their parents and an adult with a relationship to the child steps in to raise the child. Kinship caregivers are grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, older siblings, neighbors, teachers, and family friends who don’t want to see a child they care about enter the foster care system. So, they volunteer to take in the child themselves.

There are 57,000 children in kinship care in South Carolina compared to approximately 4,000 in foster care. Because kinship caregivers typically are not licensed foster parents, they do not receive any financial assistance for caring for the children.

ABOUT SISTERS OF CHARITY FOUNDATION OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System, founded in 1996. Its mission is to address the needs of families and individuals experiencing poverty throughout the state of South Carolina. Through the strategic use of resources, they seek to reduce poverty through action, advocacy, and leadership.