The Palmetto Project sees healthy families, engaged young people, and vibrant schools as the cornerstones of effective communities.   Our initiatives provide thousands of vulnerable families with connections to social service agencies, support services, food, and even Christmas presents.

My First Books of South Carolina

Nearly one-third of South Carolina children arrive in kindergarten without the literacy skills to master the material they need to move on to first grade.  Through our partnership with Dolly Parton and her Imagination Library, we are working to provide every South Carolina child under age five a free, developmentally-appropriate book each month.  BEGIN WITH BOOKS, our affiliated program in Charleston County, is one of the most successful examples of how this program can change children’s lives.

Begin With Books

Begin With Books is changing thousands of lives in Charleston County SC by mailing books to babies and toddlers via Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Families who receive our books in the mail each month read with their children more often and spend more time reading and talking about books together.  These improved family reading habits strengthen a baby’s pre-literacy skills and reduce the word gap that exists between children from low- and higher-income families, sending children to school excited about reading and ready to learn.

Families Helping Families

There has probably never been a real social “safety net” for vulnerable families and children in South Carolina.  One in three children in South Carolina cannot count on regular meals from day to day.  For 25 years, the Palmetto Project has provided a lifeline to families in crisis through its network of social service agencies and community-minded organizations across the state.  Many South Carolinians know FHF because of its Christmas programming that provides food, clothing, and Christmas gifts for nearly 3800 families with urgent and emergency needs.

Challenge Day

A statewide survey once suggested that one-third of South Carolina teenagers feared for their physical safety while at school.   Challenge Day is a nationally-recognized non-profit initiative with whom we have partnered to provide interventions in high schools where issues of diversity have created tensions and campus bullying and even violence.  More than 75% of participating students say the program has helped them better understand their peers and make them more open to fellow students of different backgrounds.