empowering minds one nonprofit at a time!

literacy + education

Please see below a consolidated alphabetical list of nonprofits in the tri-county area for literacy and education initiatives. Feel free to connect organizations directly for more information. While we can’t promise they will all have current volunteer opportunities we can promise this information is continually updated. If we missed your organization, let us know.

And if you are in need services designed to help you or your group find the perfect volunteer engagement opportunity aligned with your interests, values, talents and timeline - reach out, we’d love to help!

literacy

  • Begin With Books is an affiliate of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, a global book-gifting program that sends monthly books by mail to babies and toddlers.

  • The Berkeley County Library System enriches lives by informing, inspiring and illuminating. The vision is a literate, informed, engaged and enriched citizenry.

    VOLUNTEER

  • Books in Every Bag

    • Literacy initiative to help prepare children for kindergarten and schooling beyond in the Charleston, SC area.

    • Program that builds language knowledge and increased vocabulary

    • Provides an opportunity for children to explore and better understand the people, places and things they encounter in everyday life

  • The Charleston Library Society is a cultural institution for life-long learning, serving its members, the Lowcountry community and scholars through access to its rich collection of books, historic manuscripts and archival material and programs promoting discussion and understanding of the ideas they contain.

    VOLUNTEER

  • Because only 54% of 3rd graders in South Carolina read at grade level and systemic challenges such as insufficient teacher training in evidence-based reading instruction persist, we work with educators in Charleston, SC, to gain the tools, knowledge, and skills they need to teach reading effectively. By doing this, we ensure that children learn to read during their foundational early school years—without requiring external tutoring—in order to create a future where no child in South Carolina leaves elementary school without being able to read proficiently.

    OG Charleston

  • Reading Partners has been a part of the Charleston educational landscape since 2013, when we merged with Book Buddies and began placing community volunteers in low-income schools to help kids master basic reading. Our one-on-one tutoring empowers students to succeed in reading and in life by engaging community volunteers to provide individualized, personal attention to each student in our program.

    VOLUNTEER

  • The mission of Trident Literacy Association is to eliminate all adult illiteracy and reverse the cycle of generational poverty in the Charleston Tri-County Region. We will accomplish this through evidence-based programs facilitated by highly trained staff and volunteers supported by focused fundraising and fiscal sustainability.

    VOLUNTEER

  • Beautiful Gate Center

    Our Mission is to provide the highest level of care in a unique learning environment where children and youth with Developmental Disabilities and Autism are able to attain the skills and supports they need to enhance their long-term quality of life, and that of their families, and to help prepare the way for them to play, learn, live and work as indispensable members of our Community.

    VOLUNTEER

education

  • Beyond Our Walls is a place where children and adult relationships highlight the importance of achieving increasing levels of academic, behavior and social skills for personal success. Our goal is to expose children living with limited resources to the many cultural and educational opportunities available in our community. All children deserve "the best" regardless of their family's income and the zip code where they live.

    VOLUNTEER

  • Charleston Hope increases access to mental and behavioral health programs in Title 1 schools to enhance student well-being.

    VOLUNTEER

  • Charleston Promise Neighborhood provides comprehensive programs and services that support children, strengthen families, and mobilize residents to action.

    Charleston Promise Neighborhood (CPN). located in The Neck of Charleston, is a 5.6 square mile area of Charleston County that is one of the most under resourced corridors in the state. Generations of residents raised in the Neighborhood have consistently had limited access to opportunities in terms of quality education, housing, transportation, and employment.

    GET INVOLVED

  • Communities in Schools South Carolina model of Integrated Student Supports utilizes school-based site coordinators who assess each student’s unique needs and connect them to existing community resources so they can overcome those barriers and focus on learning. 

    VOLUNTEER

  • E3 is a community-based organization whose mission is to ensure those most impacted by inequities are educated, empowered, and elevated to exercise their collective agency in the South. To accomplish its mission, E3 works to 1) Educate Black and Brown families through culturally competent, relevant, and sustaining environments; 2) Empower through the coalition building of Black and Brown leaders, Black educators, Black and Brown-led organizations, and Black and Brown children and families; and 3) Elevate Black and Brown families to act in their power and purpose.

    GET INVOLVED

  • Empowered Minds cultivates learning-ready and compassionate classrooms by teaching social and emotional skills through yoga and mindfulness. 


    We rely on volunteers to bring our services to elementary schools. What makes us unique is that our volunteers teach one class for the entire school year. They really are able to develop relationships with their students. We also have classroom teachers in our classes so they are also listening and learning the same strategies their students are. We believe the more children and their adults learning mental health strategies the better

    Leigh Crowder Biearman MOTR/L

    Executive Director Empowered Minds

    https://www.empoweredminds.org/

    https://youtu.be/xptr0udu2o4

    843-714-9828

    VOLUNTEER

  • The mission of Engaging Creative Minds is to spark creativity and curiosity in all learners through innovative and experiential learning.

    ECM is a nationally recognized award-winning South Carolina nonprofit committed to helping school-day educators and out-of-school-time programs succeed by leveraging the arts, cultural organizations, and STEM professionals working in partnerships with teachers, principals, and superintendents during the school day, summer, and after school.

    VOLUNTEER

  • The Green Heart Project builds garden-based experiential learning projects and school garden programs to educate students connect people and cultivate community through growing, eating, and celebrating food.

    VOLUNTEER

  • Heart Math
    dedicated volunteers
    + effective, fun curriculum
    + on-site support
    + school partnership
    = positive outcomes

    Heart Math Tutoring (“Heart” or “HMT”) gives young students successful experiences in math through one-on-one, volunteer-delivered tutoring during the school day. HMT’s mission is to ensure that all elementary students develop the strong foundation in math and enthusiasm for academics needed for long-term success, by helping schools use volunteers as tutors.

    We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Thank you to our volunteers, school partners, and supporters! 

    VOLUNTEER

  • Junior Achievement of Greater South Carolina is a nonprofit that inspires and prepares young people for success,

    VOLUNTEER

  • Kids on Point is a Charleston, SC-based nonprofit offering dynamic, evidence-based year-round programming that demonstrably improves its participants’ school attendance, academic performance and likelihood of higher education enrollment.

    VOLUNTEER

  • Wings For Kids equips elementary school-aged students with the skills to succeed in school, stay in school, and thrive in life.
    Growing up today demands strong, resilient, creative kids who can navigate complexity - out in the world and inside themselves. All children possess this capability because potential is distributed equally; opportunity is not.

    Since our beginning in 1996, WINGS has focused exclusively on under-resourced and over-looked communities by providing safe and supportive afterschool programs. It's here - afterschool - that we help kids understand their emotions, build resiliency and curiosity, make responsible decisions, and focus on academic skills. And in doing so, WINGS has become a nationally-recognized organization with an evidence-based program and approach. Born in Charleston, SC - Wings for Kids has reached more than 4.8 million kids nationwide.

    VOLUNTEER


  • Teacher Care Club

    The Teacher Care Club firmly believes it is time for teachers to give back to themselves. This organization is created with the hope of providing free mental health and wellness opportunities to teachers. 

Our Mission.

Good Strategies is committed to driving change in the Charleston Region by connecting businesses, nonprofits and individuals to our community through the power of volunteerism.

contact us.


If you are looking for the perfect Charleston community volunteer opportunity that matches your skills, interests, group requirements and timeline, let us know. We’d love to help!

If you are a nonprofit in need of volunteer engagement strategy, we are ready to help bring your program to the next level!