Seven local nonprofits. One shared mission: putting your dollars to work before a setback becomes homelessness.
A parked car was never supposed to be home. But that’s exactly where one local mother and her two children found themselves after a divorce upended their lives. Bouncing between their car, emergency shelters and, when she could afford it, hotel rooms, she kept working—and saving—determined to secure a permanent home for her family.
And she almost did. The apartment was within reach. The monthly rent was manageable. But the thousands of dollars required upfront to actually move in weren’t. After everything she’d done right, $3,000 stood between her children sleeping in a car and sleeping in beds of their own.
Her story is far from unusual. So many of Wake County’s housing-insecure neighbors aren’t who you might imagine. They’re working parents, professionals and families who were making it—until suddenly they weren’t. An illness. An injury. A divorce. An unexpected death in the family. One ordinary setback that becomes another, and in a flash, the stability they spent years building begins to unravel.
That’s precisely what RM’s Give Raleigh, in partnership with Pinnacle Financial Partners, was designed to interrupt. The annual 40-day giving campaign raises funds for Cooper Charitable Foundation, which puts those dollars to work through seven local nonprofits helping neighbors stay—or become—safely housed.
For this single mother, that nonprofit was Oak City Cares. A $3,000 Cooper Charitable Foundation grant covered the move-in costs, finally allowing her family to trade nights in parking lots for a permanent home. Today, her children have a safe place to sleep, study and grow—and their mother can focus on raising them instead of wondering where they’ll spend the night.
Ten bucks didn’t pay that $3,000. Neither did $20 or $100. But your $10 was never meant to do it alone. Add it to ours. And your neighbor’s. Your mom’s. Your dad’s. Then add Pinnacle Financial Partners’ dollar-for-dollar match of the first $10,000 raised. That’s what Give Raleigh does. That’s how $10 becomes something much bigger.
Last year, those gifts became $118K+ through Give Raleigh—money Cooper Charitable Foundation put into the hands of those seven local nonprofits that know exactly where a few dollars at exactly the right moment can change the trajectory of someone’s life.
A deposit gets paid. A bed gets delivered. A car gets repaired. A student stays in school. A mother stays housed. That’s the $10 difference. That’s what happens when Raleigh gives together.
Meet the Mission
Seven ways your gift can help keep a Wake County neighbor moving forward.
Family Promise of the Triangle | 1993 Home is more than an address. Family Promise helps families move from cars, motels and borrowed couches into permanent housing through prevention, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing and ongoing support.
The Green Chair Project | 2010 Four walls don’t make a home—a bed, table and chair do. The Green Chair Project transforms empty apartments into homes by providing furniture and essentials for families rebuilding after homelessness, crisis or disaster.
Oak City Cares | 2019 Finding support shouldn’t be harder than asking for it. Oak City Cares connects neighbors with housing, employment, health care, meals and other essential services through Wake County’s one-stop hub for homelessness resources.
Wake Tech Fostering Bright Futures | 2009 You can’t put a price on education—until you can. FBF removes financial barriers through tuition assistance, stipends and wraparound support, helping former foster youth stay in school, earn degrees and build independent futures.
Healing Transitions | 2001 Recovery isn’t a straight line. Healing Transitions provides free peer-based recovery services—from emergency shelter and detox to long-term support—giving people as many chances as it takes to rebuild their lives.
The Carying Place | 1993 Sometimes preventing homelessness is as simple as helping a family through one difficult season. The Carying Place combines short-term housing, financial education and personalized support to help hardworking families achieve lasting stability.
The Women’s Center of Wake County | 1977 Everyone deserves a safe place to begin again. Wake County’s only day shelter for single women provides meals, showers, housing support, case management and life-skills programming to help women move from crisis to stability.
How a missed paycheck, a broken car or one unexpected bill can lead to homelessness—and how Give Raleigh is working to interrupt that story.
She clocks out at 4pm—which means she’s already too late. Too late for the only emergency shelter in Wake County where mothers can stay with their children. So instead, she pulls up in a parking lot for another night at “home” in her car.
But she doesn’t have the life you probably imagine. She has a job. Her child has daycare. She did everything she was told to—and still, it wasn’t enough.
It sounds like an anomaly—but in Raleigh, it’s anything but. Across Wake County, more than 1,000 people are sleeping outdoors or staying in emergency shelters—and the daily waiting list for a bed alone is 120 deep. Behind those numbers are stories—not of people who gave up, but of people who have run out of options: a parent paying $90/night for a motel, a family sleeping in their car, someone choosing between fixing a transmission or paying rent, a domestic violence survivor starting over, a professional who just got wiped out by unexpected hospital bills.
The often-overlooked reality is, most people don’t become homeless because of one catastrophic event. They get there one ordinary setback at a time. The crisis isn’t always losing a home—it’s having no one to solve a small problem before it becomes a devastating one.
That’s where RM’s fourth-annual Give Raleigh comes in. Returning focus to housing insecurity this year, the 40-day giving campaign rallies support for boots-on-the-ground organizations working to keep small setbacks from becoming permanent ones. Kicking off Sept. 1, Raleigh Magazine, in partnership with Pinnacle Financial Partners—which will match the first $10,000—will raise funds for Cooper Charitable Foundation, supporting seven local nonprofits helping keep Wake County families housed, safe and stable.
If you’ve ever moved, you already understand the barrier. Making rent often isn’t the biggest hurdle—it’s coming up with the security and utility deposits, first month’s rent, application fees, and furnishings—all at once. For families already living paycheck to paycheck, those upfront costs can be impossible. Give Raleigh exists to bridge that gap, through locals giving as little as $10 to make a difference.
Efforts like Wake County’s Wake at Home initiative are making meaningful progress moving people from encampments into permanent housing. But local nonprofits say preventing homelessness before it begins remains one of the greatest unmet needs.
Last year, Give Raleighraised $118,180 to help these seven local nonprofits intervene before temporary setbacks became permanent—creating substantial impact in the fight against homelessness. This year, we’re doubling down. Because Give Raleigh isn’t about charity. It’s about intervention. It’s the difference between “I lost my apartment” and “I’m sleeping in my car.”
Meet the Mission
Homelessness is less about who someone is, and more about what happened to them. Last year’s $118K+ raised through Give Raleigh enabled Cooper Charitable Foundation to support seven local nonprofits helping neighbors move from housing insecurity to stability. Meet the missions—and just four of the many families whose stories changed because someone chose to give.
Family Promise of the Triangle | 1993 Home is more than an address. Family Promise helps families move from cars, motels and borrowed couches into permanent housing through prevention, emergency shelter, rapid rehousing and ongoing support.
The Green Chair Project | 2010 Four walls don’t make a home—a bed, table and chair do. The Green Chair Project transforms empty apartments into homes by providing furniture and essentials for families rebuilding after homelessness, crisis or disaster.
Oak City Cares | 2019 Finding support shouldn’t be harder than asking for it. Oak City Cares connects neighbors with housing, employment, health care, meals and other essential services through Wake County’s one-stop hub for homelessness resources.
Wake Tech Fostering Bright Futures | 2009 You can’t put a price on education—until you can. FBF removes financial barriers through tuition assistance, stipends and wraparound support, helping former foster youth stay in school, earn degrees and build independent futures.
Healing Transitions | 2001 Recovery isn’t a straight line. Healing Transitions provides free peer-based recovery services—from emergency shelter and detox to long-term support—giving people as many chances as it takes to rebuild their lives.
The Carying Place | 1993 Sometimes preventing homelessness is as simple as helping a family through one difficult season. The Carying Place combines short-term housing, financial education and personalized support to help hardworking families achieve lasting stability.
The Women’s Center of Wake County | 1977 Everyone deserves a safe place to begin again. Wake County’s only day shelter for single women provides meals, showers, housing support, case management and life-skills programming to help women move from crisis to stability.
Real People, Real Impact
Where Every Dollar Goes
The Green Chair Project $20K granted 136 people supported 72 beds/cribs provided for children 47 households received Essential Home Furnishings Package
If it can happen to Tristan, it can happen to anyone. Earning $85K+ a year with a job, apartment, car and beloved pup Lacy by her side, it was a sudden migraine on an otherwise ordinary workday that brought it all crashing down. After leaving work sick, Tristan blacked out behind the wheel and crashed into a median—and in the aftermath, lost her job, car, apartment and even her dog. “I never knew from one day to the next if I was going to live or die,” she recalls. But with help from The Women’s Center, including Cooper Charitable Foundation funding for her first month’s rent, application fee and security deposit, Tristan found her footing—and a new apartment. Then The Green Chair Project stepped in to turn those four walls into a home, furnishing the space where she was finally reunited with Lacy. Today, she’s not just back on her feet—she’s engaged to her childhood sweetheart and volunteers twice a week at The Women’s Center, helping other women find their way forward. “None of this would’ve happened if it wasn’t for all of you,” she says.
Oak City Cares ~$43.4K granted 35 households helped 35 deposits and move-in costs covered for families moving into stable housing
A parked car was never supposed to be home. But that’s exactly where a local mother and her two children found themselves after a divorce upended their lives. Bouncing between their car, emergency shelters and, when they could afford it, hotel-hopping, she worked tirelessly to save enough for a place of their own. Even then, the upfront move-in costs remained out of reach. Until a $3K Give Raleigh grant through Cooper Charitable Foundation and Oak City Cares changed that—finally unlocking the front door to a permanent home. Today, her children have the stability every child deserves: a safe place to sleep, study and grow. And one mother can finally spend her energy raising her children instead of wondering where they’ll sleep—all because someone chose to give.
The Carying Place ~$7.5K granted 3 families supported Paid emergency funds for transportation issues
For a local preschool teacher and single mother of three, an unexpected car repair to the tune of several thousand dollars threatened to undo years of hard-won financial stability. A 2021 graduate of The Carying Place, she had a stable home, full-time employment and even an emergency fund—until the unexpected expense far exceeded that safety net. Rather than forcing her to choose between reliable transportation and wiping out her savings, support through Give Raleigh and Cooper Charitable Foundation helped cover the necessary repairs. But the impact went far beyond fixing a car: She could still get to work, and support her children and keep her family moving forward—all while protecting the progress she’d worked so hard to achieve.
Family Promise of the Triangle $20K granted 12 people (5 families) helped 4 rental arrears that kept families from being evicted 1 family received security deposit and first month’s rent for permanent housing
Finding a home was only half the battle. After successfully transitioning into permanent housing, a local mother of two thought the hardest days were behind her. Then complications from Stage 5 kidney disease forced her to take a leave of absence from work, leaving her unable to keep up with rent. Just when everything she’d rebuilt was at risk of slipping away, Family Promise—through Give Raleigh and Cooper Charitable Foundation—helped keep her family safely housed. Today, she’s back at work, receiving in-home dialysis and can spend her energy focusing on her health and her family instead of fear and instability.
PostScript Outreach enhances the lives of the disconnected through dinner and crafts.
Loneliness has long been a public health crisis—even before the pandemic made it apparent. And clearly a stigma still surrounds addressing feelings of social isolation.
Enter PostScript Outreach. Founded by Marsha Smitley with an aim to shutter out loneliness across all ages and demographics, the local nonprofit is building community by bridging the gap with its smash-hit program The Connection—aka weekly Thursday dinners boasting good food, connection-driven conversation led by a speaker and a creative dance, game or craft—for residents living at senior affordable housing complex Sir Walter Apartments.
Kindling friendships between those residing at Sir Walter has been no easy feat, especially because of a language barrier between English-speaking and Mandarin Chinese-speaking residents. Inspired to better connect with their neighbors, many Chinese residents wanted to hurdle this obstacle. PostScript answered the call with the introduction of ongoing English language classes and translation led by two volunteers.
Continuing to inspire since its launch, The Connection has expanded to kindle friendships in other spaces where connections can be difficult to cultivate—specifically for international students at NC State. Students initially volunteered with PostScript at their summer program, Staycation, chatting and connecting with the residents at Sir Walter. Some Mandarin Chinese-speaking students were even able to speak freely with the Mandarin Chinese-speaking residents—some having the first conversation in their native language they’ve had in weeks.
Once class began and schedules began to fill up, PostScript launched The Connection on-campus at NC State to continue to engage with students and other young professionals. Now the volunteers-turned-participants craft and kindle conversation together once a month, with the aim to lessen the loneliness many young people experience during formative college years.
Designed to build relationships and assure the dignity and worth, the get-togethers are about more than food and fun, explains Smitley, also the program’s executive director. “We are here because we have experienced loneliness, and we know how it feels.”
Over meals and crafts, the once-distant neighbors and students have grown closer, meeting to share “a little piece of who they are.” Conversations engage the participants, covering everything from physical health effects of loneliness to the ways we internalize stereotypes.
Ultimately, anyone can feel lonely, and it can easily go unnoticed by others. “It comes up in your body, in your senses,” says Smitley. “Loneliness is just a feeling that says, ‘I need to be connected to somebody.’” But with efforts like this one, connections can be forged. psoutreach.org
What if we told you you could change your city with just $5? Enter our sophomore Give Raleigh campaign, where that’s exactly what you can do—and double your impact.
Until Dec. 15, every donation—whether $5, $10 or some larger amount you have to spare or want for a tax write-off—is being matched by our partner TowneBank/Towne Insurance, up to the first $10K donated.
Making good on Aesop’s proverb that “no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted,” every dollar literally adds up—and galvanizes the generous spirit of Raleighites. “I’ve seen firsthand, over and over again, that Raleigh is a city full of passionate and generous people,” says Nicole Stewart, former Raleigh city councilor and current director of engagement for the A.J. Fletcher Foundation. “When there is a cause they care about, they give what they can to support it. And small dollar donations add up and make a huge difference—especially for our local nonprofits.”
There’s still time to give, to make a difference with just a few dollars—and help us smash the near $25K we raised out of the gate last year. We are so thrilled to use our bullhorn for benevolence as we partner with this year’s trio of local nonprofits touching every age group and innumerable need—Haven House, Healing Transitions and SAFEchild—for a better tomorrow for all of us. It’s giving generous! Donate now at giveraleigh.com.
Haven House
Building strong young people and bright futures for five impactful decades, Haven House’s legacy is one for the books. Empowering youths ages 6–24 who are homeless; in crisis; or having difficulty at home, school or in the community to understand, work through and overcome challenges, the local safe haven is the place for vulnerable youth to find their way—and find the help they need. “Haven House served over 1,500 youth last year—a 25% increase from the year before—reflecting the urgent and growing needs in our community,” says Haven House Chief Executive Officer Michelle Zechmann. “The Give Raleigh campaign is vital to meeting those needs by helping us reach more young people. … Every donation, no matter the size, is about coming together to provide hope and a brighter future for all.” havenhousenc.org
EVERY DONATION MAKES AN IMPACT
$5 💰
One meal for a youth (10–17) at Wrenn House
$10 💰💰
One pair of athletic shorts for intervention program
$25 💰💰💰
One day of outreach and basic needs for youth experiencing homelessness
$50 💰💰💰💰
One hour of crisis counseling to youth and/or their families
Healing Transitions
At the core of every community is its people—all of them. And Healing Transitions is a beacon of real community for all Raleighites via its “Recovery for All” MO: Always open. Always free. Always everyone. Always another chance. Always community. And no matter who we are or how it begins, we all come to the same realization that we’re powerless to control addiction alone. Thankfully, there’s a way to prevent from-OD-to-RIP. “Healing Transitions is committed to making essential, effective recovery services accessible to everyone—especially those who are homeless, uninsured and underserved,” says Healing Transitions Executive Director Chris Budnick. “To eliminate barriers, we offer all of our services completely free of charge. This means every single donation—no matter the size—plays a critical role in our mission. When we say every dollar matters, it’s because it helps us continue saving and transforming lives—and the impact doesn’t stop there. It ripples out, touching families, friends and the broader community. It’s our neighbors’ support that makes this possible.” healing-transitions.org
EVERY DONATION MAKES AN IMPACT
$5 💰
One meal
$10 💰💰
Average prescription
$25 💰💰💰
Day of service on campus
$50 💰💰💰💰
24-hour stay in nonmedical detox
SAFEchild
Safety is not a birthright. But it should be. And they don’t teach parenting in school. But, fortunately, bringing healthy families to the forefront is SAFEchild via its roster of support and education services you won’t find anywhere else. In short, in a world where access is everything, SAFEchild is changing—and saving—lives. “We are the place for parent education and support, children’s medical evaluations when there is suspected abuse, and school-based programs in every Wake County public elementary school, plus several charter and private schools,” says SAFEchild’s Executive Director Cristin DeRonja. “We are that safety net for children and families in Wake County. Every dollar means so much to us… to be able to provide life-saving and life-changing services to children and families. And every dollar raised through Give Raleigh to ensure SAFEchild’s mission can thrive is critical to the health of the community.” safechildnc.org
EVERY DONATION MAKES AN IMPACT
$5 💰
Child care for a family attending SAFEchild parenting classes
$10 💰💰
Medical gown for a child seen in SAFEchild’s Advocacy Center
$25 💰💰💰
Funny Tummy Feelings programming for a Wake County first-grade classroom
$50 💰💰💰💰
Parenting classes, meals and child care for three Wake County families in SAFEchild classes
What if you could change your city with just $5?Now you can. Turns out, “no act of kindness, no matter how small, [really] is ever wasted.” Embodying the essence of Aesop’s proverb, RM’s sophomore Give Raleigh campaign—where every dollar literally adds up—is launching for 40 days of giving Oct. 1 in partnership with TowneBank/Towne Insurance to inspire the generous spirit of Raleighites.
Coming off an inaugural campaign supernova that raised a whopping $24,242, we look to double down on our community investment this year with a new handpicked trio of local nonprofits: Haven House, Healing Transitions and SAFEChild. As with last year, every dollar raised will stay right here in Raleigh and help families just like yours and ours. And our benevolent partners TowneBank/Towne Insurance will again match the first $10K of every donation—think $1, $5, $10 and beyond, donated to the one that most resonates with you or split three ways—and thereby doubling your dollar’s impact.
“Your donation matters,” says Nicole Stewart, former Raleigh city councilor and current director of engagement for the A.J. Fletcher Foundation. “Once upon a time in Raleigh, there was a group of 20-year-old women who pooled their fresh-in-their-career dollars together to donate to causes they cared about. Together, with even more of their friends, they raised nearly $10,000 in one year (and that was in 2007!). Over the course of their 14-year run, they raised and donated over $425,000. Small dollar donations add up and make a huge difference—especially for our local nonprofits.”
Raleigh is one of the most charitable cities in the country. Beyond sheer Southern hospitality, we donate, volunteer and buy tickets supporting boots-on-the-ground charities whose hard work wraps their arms around local families in their time of need and gives hope for a better tomorrow.
I’ve seen firsthand, over and over again, that Raleigh is a city full of passionate and generous people,” says Stewart. “When there is a cause they care about, they give what they can to support it.”
And each of these impactful organizations make a difference in our city each and every day across all sectors—strengthening and empowering families, youth and all, including the uninsured and underserved, through child abuse services, housing, crisis management and addiction recovery. Together we hope to galvanize our community’s inherently good nature to come together and propel these critical purposes.
Read about these three impactful organizations—and give hope where otherwise there may not be any. Then, from Oct. 1 to Nov. 10, let’s smash the funds raised last year, Raleigh! It’s giving generous! Donate at giveraleigh.com.
Photography by Keith Isaacs, courtesy of Healing Transitions
Recovery for All
At the core of every community is its people—all of them. And Healing Transitions is a beacon of real community for all Raleighites via its “Recovery for All” MO: Always open. Always free. Always everyone. Always another chance. Always community.
Regardless of birth year or bankroll, addiction likely touches each one of us in our lifetime—whether ourselves, a partner, a parent, a peer, a child, a colleague and so on. And it doesn’t always look the way you’d imagine. It affects individuals and families from every community in all walks of life—tearing at the very fabric of who we are. Separating us from everything we’ve known. Alienating us from everyone we need.
And no matter who we are or how it begins, we all come to the same realization that we’re powerless to control that addiction alone. But there’s a way to prevent “from OD to RIP.” And a glimpse of hope can reroute the course of an entire life.
Healing Transitions is committed to making essential, effective recovery services accessible to everyone—especially those who are homeless, uninsured and underserved,” says Healing Transitions Executive Director Chris Budnick. “To eliminate barriers, we offer all of our services completely free of charge. This means every single donation—no matter the size—plays a critical role in our mission. When we say every dollar matters, it’s because it helps us continue saving and transforming lives.”
“Healing Transitions is committed to making essential, effective recovery services accessible to everyone—especially those who are homeless, uninsured and underserved,” says Healing Transitions Executive Director Chris Budnick. “To eliminate barriers, we offer all of our services completely free of charge. This means every single donation—no matter the size—plays a critical role in our mission. When we say every dollar matters, it’s because it helps us continue saving and transforming lives.”
A lifeline for neighbors in need, with a focus on “healing” (recovery) and “transition” (rekindling desire to return to meaningful and productive life), so-named Healing Transitions is dedicated to the notion that addiction doesn’t have to be the end of the story. With open doors 24/7, the organization is Wake County’s only long-term, peer-based recovery program, serving the needs of all those struggling—with no financial barriers.
“Most importantly, Healing Transitions turns people’s lives around who can’t afford expensive recovery programs, but it also cleans up Downtown significantly,” says Healing Transitions board member David Meeker, who also serves as partner in Trophy Brewing, which has dedicated much of its resources and efforts, including the popular Trophy Trot, to the healing org. “We are so lucky to have Healing Transitions in Raleigh.”
Through its on-demand and innovative peer-to-peer addiction services ranging emergency drop-in shelter and nonmedical detox to long-term services and sustained sobriety, the recovery-oriented organization is dedicated to meeting anyone where they are, including those who are homeless, underserved and uninsured. In short, Healing Transitions saves lives. Period.
What I love about Healing Transitions is they don’t give up on people who need help,” says local hospitality titan Scott Crawford, who, beyond his dedication to nourishing the community via his boon of best-in-class concepts, also serves as a distinguished member Healing Transitions’ board of directors—and is marking his 20th year of recovery with his inaugural October Freedom Harvest event to benefit the nonprofit.
“There were people in my life who didn’t give up on me,” adds the renowned chef/owner of Crawford Hospitality and five-time James Beard semifinalist—including for Outstanding Hospitality this year. “And this is the reason I can celebrate 20 years of sobriety now—there’s no better way for me to celebrate than to give back to my sobriety community.”
To that end, every dollar donated to Healing Transitions saves lives—“and the impact doesn’t stop there,” says Budnick. “It ripples out, touching families, friends and the broader community. And it’s our neighbors’ support that makes this possible.” healing-transitions.org
Photography by Keith Isaacs, courtesy of SAFEchild
Stop Abuse for Every Child
Safety is not a birthright.But it should be. And they don’t teach parenting in school. Fortunately, bringing healthy families to the forefront is SAFEchild via its roster of support and education services you won’t find anywhere else.
“We are the place for parent education and support, children’s medical evaluations when there is suspected abuse, and school-based programs in every Wake County public elementary school, plus several charter and private schools,” says SAFEchild’s Executive Director Cristin DeRonja.
Established in 1992 with an MO to Stop Abuse For Every child (aka SAFE)—because “every child has the right to mature in an environment free from abuse and neglect”—it’s the only child-abuse prevention agency serving Wake County and providing a full range of no-cost critical prevention and intervention services for children and families.
[SAFEchild] took a horrible experience and made it as comfortable, manageable and safe as possible considering the circumstances… without causing any additional harm,” says a local parent whose child was served through the SAFEchild Advocacy Center.
“We are that safety net for children and families in Wake County. Every dollar means so much to us,” says DeRonja. “We raise over $3 million annually to be able to provide life-saving and life-changing services to children and families. And every dollar raised through Give Raleigh to ensure SAFEchild’s mission can thrive is critical to the health of the community”—not to mention having more people involved and aware of the prevalence of child abuse and to advocate for the children, she adds.
In short, in a world where access is everything, SAFEchild is saving lives. “I describe it as free counseling,” says a former participant. “It was such a breath of fresh air to actually… have someone who truly understands where you are, like right there.”
Today, the org’s reach has expanded far beyond physical safety. Raising a tremendous $11.1 million in just two years, the nonprofit bowed its 20,000-square-foot Raleigh facility last fall, allowing it to further empower children and caregivers and build stronger families via a range of programs, classes, parenting resources and support groups.
Photography by Keith Isaacs, courtesy of SAFEchild
“As Wake County continues to grow, so does the need for supportive family services,” says DeRonja. “The new space positions us to provide more for a growing community in a very time-sensitive manner—which all ties back to resources. For us to meet families and children in a time-sensitive way and provide more of what we do, it all ties back to people financially supporting our mission.”
As one local parent who learned multifarious avenues for positive parenting puts it: “It’s an education you won’t get anywhere else. This is a program you need, a group you need, before you know you need it.”
Thus, as little as $5 can have an immediate impact on programs and services that change the trajectory of—and even save—several lives and strengthen the safe and healthy community it fosters for all of us.
In a group of people sharing their stories, “you realize it’s not just you that feels this way,” says another program participant. “You come to realize mine can change too.” safechildnc.org
EVERY DONATION MAKES AN IMPACT
$5
$10
$25
$50
Child care for a family attending SAFEchild parenting classes
Medical gown for a child seen in SAFEchild’s Advocacy Center
Funny Tummy Feelings programming for a Wake County first-grade classroom
Parenting classes, meals and child care for three Wake County families in SAFEchild classes
For 51 years, local youthhave been lifted up by a haven for hope. Building strong young people and bright futures for five impactful decades, Haven House’s legacy is one for the books.
With an MO of empowering youths ages 6–24 who are homeless; in crisis; or having difficulty at home, school or in the community to thrive and be safe, supported and successful, the transformative nonprofit has altered the course of tens of thousands of vulnerable youths’ lives and futures for the better since its inception in 1973.
Helping them understand, work through and overcome challenges, Haven House is the place for youth to find their way—and find the help they need. “Haven House served over 1,500 youth last year—a 25% increase from the year before—reflecting the urgent and growing needs in our community,” says Haven House Chief Executive Officer Michelle Zechmann.
The Give Raleigh campaign is vital to meeting those needs by helping us reach more young people struggling with homelessness; mental health challenges; and problems at home, school or in the community,” Zechmann continues. “Every donation, no matter the size, is about coming together to provide hope and a brighter future for all.”
A critical asset to the health of the entire community, Haven House meets our local young people and their families where they are. Together, its 10 essential programs have helped youth navigate and overcome some of life’s most difficult challenges; be better prepared to transition into adulthood; and find paths to success by providing critical access to resources, counseling, connections, mentorship and community.
Of those programs, Wrenn House answers a critical call by providing a safe space through the only homeless, runaway and crisis-intervention program and shelter for ages 10–17 in the Triangle. Meanwhile, point-of-entry Street Outreach provides runaways, homeless and street-dependent youth under age 24 with their most essential needs and resources, and transition-in-place assistance helps homeless 18–24-year-olds (and their minor dependents, if applicable) move into transitional housing.
Doubling down on bright futures, myriad programs work with at-risk, court- or juvenile justice system-involved youth—from physical to mental. Innovative Second Round implements boxing, weight training and fitness to teach discipline, teamwork and leadership, while the January-launched Outpatient Therapy program provides guidance and resources to address growing mental health matters via clinical assessments, individual and family therapy sessions, and education.
Haven House was exactly what my son needed,” says one parent of the program. “For a while early on, I wasn’t sure [graduating high school] would happen, but I knew it could, and Haven House made it possible.”
Ultimately, Haven House is there for all of us when no one else is. And every donation, no matter how small, makes a difference in the life of a young person in our community. Just $5 can quickly add up to rewrite a child or young adult’s worst chapter for a better ending. Donate for a better future. Because it takes all of us. And we are “stronger together.” havenhousenc.org
EVERY DONATION MAKES AN IMPACT
$5
$10
$25
$50
One meal for a youth (10–17) at Wrenn House
One pair of athletic shorts for intervention program
One day of outreach and basic needs for youth experiencing homelessness
One hour of crisis counseling to youth and/or their families
