Our Grace Church Housing Ministry, Front Porch Housing, is a two-year program designed to help individuals and families in crisis build a firm foundation with the goals of continued sobriety, gainful employment, financial independence, and spiritual maturity. We know that the individuals coming into our program are coming out of crisis, recovery, abuse, poverty, and neglect, and we want to give them a clean, safe, warm environment that validates their worth and invokes a sense of dignity and pride as they move into this next chapter of their lives. We have been able to impact our community by working with referral sources such as Miracle Hill, Renewal, Jasmine Road, The Phoenix Center I Serenity Place, and more.
One facet of this ministry is collecting donations and setting up a home or apartment for incoming families. Grace members and individuals from our community are donating everything from furniture to silverware, and it’s all stored in a warehouse in Greer. Once we learn of a need, we will find out the size of the family, children’s ages, favorite colors, activities, and any preferred styles—we then work with volunteers to pull donated items together, create a cohesive design plan for the entire home, and move everything in!
“We are flooded with more than we could ask for. The ability to both disciple the volunteers and learn myself what God has for us has been . . . overwhelming. Just to see the grace and abundance that he gives us—every time you think you understand it, there’s more.”
At this time, we are prioritizing our Amazon wish list and pausing on accepting donated furniture and other household items. We encourage you to donate any items to Miracle Hill. We are currently accepting donated vehicles. Many of our residents come into the program without a vehicle, which is a huge hurdle in obtaining gainful employment and moving toward independent living.
This facebook group provides a way for group members to share resource needs and help meet the needs of other group members.
GIFT TOWARDS OVERALL SUPPORT
Your gift will support the overall ministry and will move us toward our long term goal of building an affordable and sustainable housing development.
GIFT TOWARDS MEDICAL NEEDS
Your gift will support the medical needs of our residents as we work to meet immediate health needs as well as build a foundation for long term whole body health and wellness.
GIVE UNUSED GIFT CARDS
We need your help with a new and unique project! Everyone has a few half-used or unused gift cards hanging out in their wallet—we are collecting those gift cards and turning them into cash. We have partnered with a third party to liquidate these cards. The cash will then be used to help with some additional funding for our women in Grace Church Housing. Please consider contributing to this project! Gift cards can be dropped off in offering boxes at your campus or at your campus office.
DONATION PICK-UP
We send volunteer teams out to the greater Greenville area to pick up donations large and small. We have a great need for volunteers in this area.
UNPACK, SORT, & ORGANIZE
Each week we meet to unpack, sort, and organize donations that have been collected.
COMMUNITY GROUP INVOLVEMENT
We encourage community groups to serve together and have opportunities on the first Saturday of every month for groups to work as a team in our warehouse. Occasionally, we also have opportunities to move new residents into their new home, this includes moving, set up, and decorating.
WRAP AROUND COMMUNITY GROUPS
We invite our community groups to wrap around a resident in prayer, encouragement, and support as they build a relationship, pointing the resident towards Christ and building a firm foundation. If you have a desire to serve in this area, please email us.
SEASONAL EVENTS
We have several options to serve and connect throughout the year by hosting an array of seasonal events for the residents. We need volunteers to help with planning, participating, and serving at these events. If you have a desire to serve in this area, please email us.
PRAYER PARTNERS
Prayer is powerful, and we know how important prayer and support are to the residents as they rebuild their lives. Both community groups and individuals can serve as prayer partners for our residents. If you have a desire to serve in this area, please email us.
The address is 3195 J Verne Smith Parkway, Greer, SC 29651.
We are looking for any and all housing items—from furniture to utensils to cleaning products and everything in between! Basically, if it goes into a house and it is in good clean condition, chances are we need it. We furnish every room of the house from bedrooms to linen closets to kitchens and laundry rooms. So if you are wondering, “will they take clean trash cans and used sheets as well as shower curtains and curtain rods?” the answer is YES!
You can also donate to the housing ministry by purchasing directly from our Amazon Wish List.
View Amazon Wish ListYes! We accept all vehicles in good working condition.
To donate a vehicle, first complete THIS form. You may also need to have the vehicle appraised to determine its value to back up your itemization of this donation on your tax return.
Any vehicle donations deemed greater than $5,000 in value require additional documentation by the IRS. Your appraiser will assist you with starting this form, which will need to be completed by the Grace Finance Department. They will return the form via mail to you in two weeks. If it is valued under $5,000 you will not need additional documentation from the appraiser.
We partner with Reasonable Rides in Pelzer to receive and hold our donated vehicles at their secure site. Please take your vehicle to 1853 Easley Hwy, Pelzer, SC 29669 during business hours (M-F 10-6 PM or Sat 10-2 PM). When you drop off the vehicle, keep the vehicle tag, but drop off the title and keys. The Signature of the Seller must be signed when dropping off the vehicle, this can be found on the back of your vehicle title under the top section labeled “Assignment of Vehicles” – lower right side of box. A donation receipt can either be collected during drop-off or mailed within two weeks.
We do not accept soiled linens, broken, or expired items. We also do not take clothing or baby items. We will occasionally take baby furniture such as cribs, pack-and-plays, and changing tables, so it never hurts to ask, but we do not commonly take or stock those items. Just think “would I place this in my home for a guest or my family?” If the answer is no, then we probably wouldn’t want it either.
We have a couple of options for drop off/pick-up of donated items:
1—Small Items (bedding, décor, dishes etc.) may be dropped off at the main office at the Pelham campus 9AM – 4PM, Monday – Thursday, 2801 Pelham Rd, Greenville SC 29615.
2—All items big and small may be dropped off at 3195 J Verne Smith Parkway, Greer by appointment only. Email [email protected]
3—We are not scheduling pick-up at this time.
Front Porch Housing currently serves a variety of individuals. Our residents are coming from diverse backgrounds such as drug and alcohol recovery, abuse, human trafficking, homelessness, and more. If you are interested in applying, please visit FrontPorchHousing.org.
