Most holiday programs focus on little kids. Project Joy is United Way of Greenville County’s program for middle and high school students.
Every winter, hundreds of Greenville County teens wish for something simple. A warm jacket. New shoes. A little holiday magic. Since 2020, we’ve made that possible.
Greenville County Schools helps us identify students who could use extra support over the holidays. Then local companies, volunteers and people like you fill each student’s wish list and remind them they’re not forgotten.
Project Joy is a closed referral program. Every student is referred by a Greenville County Schools social worker and we are not able to accept applications or requests from families.
Sign up on Hands On Connect, our volunteer platform. Already have an account? Skip ahead.
Choose one student or several to support.
Buy items from their personal wish list. Plan on $75 to $100 per student.
Bring gifts to United Way of Greenville County by Friday, Dec. 4. We’ll deliver them to each school for families to pick up.
You can sponsor a student through our volunteer platform ‘Hands on Connect’ or make a financial gift to support the program. Both options help meet the real needs of local students during the holiday season.
Hands On Connect is United Way’s volunteer and program management platform. It allows you to sign up to sponsor a student, manage your sponsorship details, and access your student’s wish list and instructions securely.
Project Joy accepts families recommended via Greenville County Schools. If you believe a student could benefit, please connect with your school’s social worker or guidance counselor for more information.
Each student’s needs vary, but we recommend budgeting $75–$100 per student to provide clothing, personal care items, and small gifts.
We encourage including gift receipts when possible for items like clothing or shoes that may need to be exchanged.
This year, parents can choose whether gifts should be wrapped. Please check your student’s form for their preference. If wrapping is requested, wrap each gift individually (who doesn’t love opening more than one present?) and label all gifts clearly.
Gifts may be delivered to United Way of Greenville County, located at 105 Edinburgh Court, Greenville, SC 29607 by December 2.
Because this year’s program matches donors with individual students, you may be supporting more than one family. To ensure accurate delivery, please label each gift with the Student ID from your assignment (example: Student A42). You may use gift tags, stickers, or tape—anything clearly visible is fine.
Label each item separately to avoid mix-ups during distribution.
Example:
Student A42 – Item 1
Student A42 – Item 2
Once you log in to Hands On Connect, you’ll see a list of available students to sponsor. Each listing includes a unique ID number and a brief description of needs provided by a parent or guardian.
To get started:
Click “Claim” next to the student(s) you’d like to sponsor.
Your selections will appear at the bottom of the page.
When you’re finished, click Submit to confirm your sponsorship.
You’ll then receive a confirmation email with:
Program guidelines
Gift drop-off details
Instructions for viewing your student information in Hands On Connect
To ensure every student receives support, we ask that sponsors not unregister after November 15. If an unexpected situation arises, we encourage you to make a monetary donation to Project Joy so we can still meet the needs of the student. For questions or concerns, please reach out to [email protected].
Thank you for joining us to build a stronger, more equitable Greenville County for all. Please complete the form below to stay connected with us.
