2026 Grant Awards

ARTS
ReCraft Creative Reuse Center: $52,040
Launching Greenville’s (Second!) Creative Reuse Center
ReCraft Reuse Center collects donations from generous Upstate manufacturers, retailers, institutions and households and redistributes the materials to schools, festivals, makers, crafters, artists, and students. In 2025, ReCraft ensured that 25,000 local families, teachers, artists, and makers had access to otherwise expensive creative materials. GWG grant funds will help them open a second location in Greer.

Outcome/Impact: A second location will reduce the barrier for many without transportation and bring access to creative, affordable materials and outreach programming to as many as 10,000 people in eastern and northern Greenville County.

EDUCATION
Augustine Literacy Project of the Upstate: $97,759
Honoring 20 Years, Growing to Serve
The mission of ALP is to improve the reading, writing and spelling skills of young children living in poverty. Highly trained volunteer tutors provide free, one-on-one literacy instruction to K-3 students, using a specific phonics-based curriculum to ensure children read on grade level by third grade, unlocking their potential and strengthening the future. Currently, 46% of SC third graders are not reading on grade level.

The GWG grant funding will allow ALP to hire a program coordinator who, in turn, will train more tutors, serve more struggling readers and meet the rising demand across Greenville County.

Outcome/Impact: A minimum of 30 new tutors trained per year, serving 60 additional students per year.

ENVIRONMENT
Blue Ridge Council, Scouting America: $100,000
Camp Old Indian Lake Cleanup
The Blue Ridge Council (BRC), Scouting America, serving 8 counties in Upstate, SC, operates independently of the National Council and is its own separate 501(c)(3). It serves over 3,000 youth annually. Camp Old Indian is owned and maintained by BRC and celebrates its 100th Anniversary in 2026. All money is raised locally by volunteers and donations. The GWG grant will provide $100,000 of the $189,500 needed to complete an urgent cleanup of Camp Old Indian Lake. Hurricane Helene devastation dumped six feet of sediment into the lake, disrupting the ecological balance of the entire region and creating a major source of pollution at the headwaters of the North Saluda watershed. This project impacts the health of fish and wildlife as well as the quality of drinking water of the entire upstate region.

Outcome/Impact: In its present condition, the lake cannot be used by scout campers. With GWG funding, sediment will be removed, and a permanent, sustainable berm addition will prevent future sediment from entering the lake, making it usable again. Longer term, improvement will be measured through monitoring of turbidity levels in the Callahan Branch waterway that connects the lake to the North Saluda River, improvement to aquatic wildlife populations, and drinking water quality of its downstream sources.

HEALTH
Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired SC (ABVI): $100,000
Vision Rehabilitation Training for Greenville Adults
ABVI is the only SC provider of comprehensive vision rehabilitation (VR) services for adults. VR equips individuals with adaptive and practical skills for daily living, such as meal preparation, medication management, assistive technology use, and safe travel, yet these services are rarely covered by insurance or offered in medical settings. ABVI addresses this critical gap by providing free VR services, ensuring adults with vision loss can live safely and independently.

Outcome/Impact: The GWG grant will fund a full-time vision rehabilitation specialist who will provide 1000 hours of vision rehabilitation training (VR) to approximately 200 Greenville adults who are blind or low vision. As a result, 80% of participants will demonstrate increased independence through mastery of key skills and 75% of clients are projected to report improved quality of life based on pre- and post-program surveys.

Feed & Seed Co.: $70,000
Capital Investments to SCALE for Sustainability
Feed & Seed Co is a Greenville based, non-profit Food Innovation Hub with the mission of “healthy food for all, thriving farms for the future.” In January 2026, Feed & Seed along with the Greenville County School System were announced as recipients of the prestigious SCALES (Supporting Community Agriculture and Local Education Systems) grant by the USDA healthy meals initiative. This grant is one of only 9 grants awarded across the country. A one-time investment by GWG will provide the critical seed funding needed to build a long-term sustainable program.

Outcome/Impact: The ~77,000 students in Greenville County Schools (more than 50% living in poverty) will receive increased access to healthy South Carolina grown food, local small and medium sized farmers will have a reliable market, and a sustainable local food system will be created.

HUMAN SERVICES
Julie Valentine Center: $81,000
Forensic Interviews for Children
The Julie Valentine Center’s mission is to provide hope and healing to those impacted by child abuse and sexual assault. It has three aims: stop abuse before it happens; reduce trauma and reestablish safety; and engage survivors in healing through compassionate treatment. All services are free.

JVC is the sole provider of trauma-informed forensic interviews in Greenville County and coordinates the 13th Circuit Multidisciplinary Team. Forensic interviews directly protect children and lead to justice. In certain cases, the tape of the Forensic Interview can prevent the need for child victims to testify in court. Rising costs and state funding cuts threaten the organization’s ability to continue providing forensic interview services.

Outcome/Impact: GWG grant funding will sustain services, enabling JVC’s forensic professionals to conduct nearly 600 interviews over 12 months, and to get the training required to maintain their accreditations.

United Way Greenville Together: $25,000
Greenville Together: “A Home For All”
As Greenville has grown, the percentage of those experiencing homelessness has increased. The mission of Greenville Together is to functionally end homelessness to make it rare, brief, and non-recurring. Research demonstrates, among those newly transitioning to stable housing, a one-time investment of $1000.00 reduces the likelihood of lease violation, abandonment or return to shelter. Residents are not forced to choose between the cost of necessary home goods, vital medications, transportation for work or purchasing food.

The GWG grant will purchase 25 “Move-in Kits” for previously unhoused individuals and families who have been relocated by the agency to stable housing. These “Kits” are basic household items, chosen by the residents. Items range from simple furniture, cookware, linens and basic cleaning supplies. These items are selected from a curated household shopping site and allow newly housed residents to prepare affordable meals, maintain a clean environment and meet basic hygiene needs.

Outcome/Impact: In 2025 Greenville Together transitioned 90 households (154 people), from homelessness into supportive housing. It is anticipated that 130 additional homes will be added in 2026. In 2025 95% of clients referred to the program accepted services—contradicting the common narrative that those experiencing homelessness do not want help. None of those transitioned have returned to homelessness.