We at Helping Hands, Inc. have been diligently working towards our mission to serve abused, abandoned, and neglected children in South Carolina since April 19, 1973. We are proud to have been able to provide love, care, and support to countless children in need throughout the years, and we are committed to continuing our efforts. 

As we commemorate our 50th anniversary, we are kicking off our new campaign to raise $50,000 to ensure that we can continue to provide the highest quality services to the children who need us the most. 

We are grateful for the support of our donors, volunteers, and community partners who have helped us to make a difference in the past 50 years.

Thank you for your support and here's to another 50 years of shaping brighter futures!

About

Helping Hands is an emergency home for children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, abandonment, and/or neglect.

Our Mission

Helping Hands is committed to enriching the quality of life and well-being of children, youth, and families in need through a continuum of residential and community-based services in order to improve their health, independent living skills, educational outcomes, and/or resilience.

History

Helping Hands was founded as a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization and became Helping Hands, Incorporated on April 19, 1973. The prompt for such a facility arose after a group of Aiken citizens realized abused, abandoned, and/or neglected children were being temporarily housed in the Aiken County jail due to a lack of foster home space. The agency began with contributions from the Gregg-Graniteville Foundation and the Aiken County government and became a United Way agency in 1979.

These concerned citizens contacted Father Howard M. Hickey of St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church and asked for his help in locating a space to provide shelter. With Father Hickey’s aid, our first location went into operation in 1973. This large home was located on York Street in Aiken and was leased to us for $1.00 per year from the church. A home for ten teenage girls was opened in North Augusta in 1980 and a home was opened shortly thereafter for ten teenage boys in Perry, S.C. Helping Hands eventually purchased the York Street location in 1983.

The combination of distance between houses, increased operating costs, and the difficulty of finding experienced house parents for three separate locations proved to be too much, so all locations were closed and children were moved to the current, and permanent, 58-bed facility on John Elliott Lane on March 31, 1988. This new facility eventually included two residential buildings, a Clothing Warehouse, Storage Warehouse, and a Development Center. In addition to providing shelter, food, and clothing, Helping Hands provides independent living skills instruction, medical and legal advocacy, mental health counseling, educational support, and activities that encourage healthy psychological and social development.

In 2012, Helping Hands acquired another nonprofit, Aiken Youth Empowerment (AYE), in order to extend our services to the Aiken community. AYE began as the Aiken County Teen Pregnancy Prevention Center in 1994 and is dedicated to providing programming to help youth reduce risk-taking behaviors and decrease teen and unintended pregnancies in our community. This is done through the provision of research-based programs with a record of success including Girls Circle, the Council of Boys and Young Men, and Stewards of Children. Other offerings include a year-round job readiness program, and parent empowerment courses.