“Creative Cooperation”
How do you turn a dilapidated former elementary school into a thriving community center? Deloris Pinson did it with a little help from some friends—the partners she enlisted over the years to create and expand the impact of Upstate Circle of Friends.
Nearly two decades ago, Pinson, a former budget analyst for Greenville County Schools, needed quality summer childcare for her son with special needs. Realizing others faced the same challenge, she worked out an agreement with the district to use the school building to offer such care. In May 2006, she resigned from her position and established a nonprofit, with big dreams to serve the Belle Meade community.
Soon after, Pinson shared her vision with George Singleton, then director of student development at Greenville Technical College. His connections as a Furman graduate and former NBA basketball player proved invaluable in finding the funding needed to purchase the building from the school district.
“She was looking for partners, and was so excited about the things she wanted to do that I was hooked,’” said Singleton, now UCF’s vice president and COO.
Since those early days, UCF has expanded its programming to serve diverse neighbors from children and youth to veterans and seniors.
Pinson oversees a USDA food program that provides hot meals for up to 350 children every school day, distributed through city and county recreation center after school programs. A summer program serves lunches to more than 700 children in Greenville and Oconee Counties. The dedicated kitchen staff also prepares meals for homebound seniors in Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Laurens, Pickens, Spartanburg, and Union counties.
Around 50 seniors participate in activities including line-dance classes and field trips to places like Myrtle Beach and Canada. Veterans meet weekly and enjoy provided meals, fellowship with other veterans, assistance to navigate the VA red tape, and more through UCF’s VetForward program.
This fall, UCF will complete the second year of a unique collaboration with nonprofit medical provider Unity Health on Main, their mental health providers, and Just Say Something parenting coaching. Greenville Health Authority funded the project with a 2022–2025 Healthy Greenville grant.
“It’s going extremely well, we’re exceeding the number of families we expected to help,” Singleton said of the program, which provides wraparound services for participants in Just Say Something’s Spanish-language parenting classes. “They face so many challenges—physical health, the language barrier, just trying to survive. The partners work hand in hand, making referrals to each other as needed.”
Leaders, Learners and Earners offers a variety of programs for teens including workforce development, topic expert speakers, and related activities through community partnerships. An Urban Teaching Garden, funded by a 2022–2025 USDA grant, provides access to healthy food in a food desert. A new partner, Dream Preparatory Academy, a preschool offering Montessori and STEAM education, opened on the campus in January.
Through these creative collaborations, Upstate Circle of Friends is able to meet wide-ranging needs, improving the lives of local citizens. In honor of this work, UCF received the Greenville Chamber of Commerce’s 2023 Max Heller Neighborhood Improvement Award.
“We have to meet people where they are,” Pinson said. “If we can get them what they need, that’s all that matters.”
The Community Foundation of Greenville made minority-led nonprofit grants to Upstate Circle of Friends in 2022 and 2023 for unrestricted operating support.