How We Help
Since the birth of the Isle of Palms Connector Run, we have always had one goal in mind -
the prevention of child abuse and healing those affected by it. We achieve this goal by donating proceeds from the race to the following organizations.
Meet the 2023 beneficiaries!
*all text taken directly from their websites*
Past Beneficiaries of the Run
Watch the Video to Learn More
Lowcountry Orphan Relief
Since 2006, we have clothed over 30,000 children in the Tri-County area. Community volunteers at our distribution center to collect and shelve donations. They lovingly fill Care Kits of necessary items for children from area shelters, foster care and those removed from the custody of their parents. The Care Kits include 2 weeks of clothing, toiletries, shoes, books, stuffed animals, and school supplies and we aim to fill all orders within 48 hours of the request.
LOR also partners with community schools to create Just In Case Closets to fill the immediate needs of children in the school setting. We host Children’s Events during the year that help children in the foster care system know they are important and valued. LOR has created Foster the Future that consists of monthly life skills classes and a three week day-camp in the summer – all focused on teaching important leadership skills and confidence boosting to undeserved children in our community.
Watch the Video to Learn More
Dee Norton Center
Child abuse does not define who a child is or who they will become. At the Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center, children and families have a safe, child-friendly place to turn when there is a concern about abuse.
Primary services include providing immediate support and assistance to children and their families through forensic interviews, medical examinations and mental health assessments. Dee Norton also provides therapy to child victims and their families where appropriate. Dee Norton is a community-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and coordinates with more than 30 partner agencies in the Charleston community to take appropriate action and deliver the critical services needed for the child and family. We also strive to increase public awareness of the issue of child abuse. Dee Norton is a Charter Member of the National Children’s Alliance, the national accreditation body for Children’s Advocacy Centers (CAC) and an Affiliate Program of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
Since 1991, Dee Norton has helped over 29,000 children and their families.
Our core values of Compassion, Collaboration and Commitment to Excellence reflect what is truly important to us as an organization. These values stand the test of time, from situation to situation and person to person. As such, they represent the underpinning of our organizational culture.
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HALOS
You likely know someone who was raised by grandparents, an aunt or family friend. Or maybe you know the adult who took a child into their home. This is called kinship care – loved ones caring for a child when the parents are unable to do so.
Children fare much better with family than in foster care. The problem is that, compared to foster parents, kinship caregivers are more likely to be poor, elderly, single and unemployed. Yet, kinship families don't receive the same support – financial, case management, or health and mental health services – as foster families.
HALOS provides comprehensive services to kinship families in the greater Charleston area – from emergency provision of car seats and cribs to ongoing intensive case management, home visits, referrals to partner agencies, support group meetings, and educational opportunities for caregivers and children.
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CAPA of Beaufort
CAPA's mission is to break the destructive cycle of child abuse and neglect by equipping parents, children and their caregivers with necessary skills, knowledge and values
CAPA is a local, non-profit organization chartered in 1981 for the purpose of providing prevention and intervention programs targeted at breaking the cycle of child abuse and aiding its victims. CAPA provides school-based safety and character development education programs for children, teen pregnancy prevention programs, and a variety of parent education and support programs. CAPA offers professional training for adults who are mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect, offers a family support/mentoring program, recruits and trains foster parents, and operates a shelter for abused children. Since opening its doors in 1985, over 2,300 children have lived in our safe home.
Darkness to Light
Darkness to Light is an international nonprofit organization with the mission to empower adults to prevent child sexual abuse through awareness, education, and stigma reduction. Darkness to Light’s flagship program, Stewards of Children®, is an evidence-informed, award-winning training that teaches adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. More than 1.7 million adults have been trained using Darkness to Light trainings. For more information, visit www.D2L.org.
Watch the Video to Learn More
Carolina Youth Development Center
Our Mission: To empower and equip our community’s most vulnerable children by providing a safe environment, educational support, and career readiness, in collaboration with families and community partners.
Our Vision is that all children will have loving and stable families and a nurturing community empowering them to lead successful lives.
Founded in 1790, Carolina Youth Development Center is an important part of Charleston’s historic and cultural heritage, a direct descendant of the Charleston Orphan House, America’s first publicly-funded orphanage.
Today, CYDC provides programs reaching over 1,200 children, youth and their families locally each year. We care for young people who are victims of physical and sexual abuse, neglect and abandonment, as well as providing resources and support to area families at risk of having their children removed from their home.
Accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) continuously since 1980, CYDC is a funded partner of Trident United Way, and a member of Child Welfare League of America, the Palmetto Association for Children and Families and the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities.
Windwood Farms
Since 1985 Windwood has provided therapeutic residential services to hundreds of abused, neglected children. Our programs consist of a residential treatment program, and outpatient counseling center (located in Mount Pleasant), and our new Community Based Prevention Services (CBPS) program where we provide voluntary case management and assist families who have been reported to SCDSS for possible neglecting or abusing their children. Windwood Family Services will continue to reach as many troubled, hurting children in the community as possible through hard work and dedication.
Our Heritage: Help, Hope, Healing. This is what goes on every day on our beautiful 110-acre residential campus along the Wando River in Awendaw. Our boys have access to several ponds, nature and fitness trails, a wide variety of animals, an obstacle and challenge course, and an on-campus education center. Highly skilled staff leads these programs and best practice evidenced based therapeutic interventions. It all adds up to a nationally accredited treatment program that offers each child a chance to elevate himself beyond his wildest expectations.
Over the past 31 years, 500 boys have called Windwood Farm their home. The services provided here take them one step closer to a brighter future and successful life in our community.