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FTF Vision

To Make a Lasting Difference in the lives of vulnerable children

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FTF Mission

To ignite churches and communities to support foster, adoptive and Kinship families

The purpose of the Greenville County Charter is to coordinate churches and volunteers to support foster, adoptive, and kinship families through community, tangible support, and advocacy.

The Greenville Charter operates as a local extension of Fostering the Family and exists to mobilize churches, volunteers, and community partners to serve vulnerable children and the families who care for them.

Fostering the Family Regional Manager

Greenville County

Missy Wright, Regional Manager

I was honored to join the Fostering the Family team in 2025. With a background in pediatric and adolescent nursing and advocating for the unborn, I’m passionate about caring for children who cannot care for themselves and believe the Body of Christ is called to provide them with safety, love, and spiritual guidance.

As a Family Support and Regional Development Coordinator, I have the opportunity to connect local churches with foster, adoptive, and kinship families to help meet their needs and support them in living out James 1:27. I’m a mom to two biological children and one child adopted after fostering, and our family loves serving our local church and community whenever we can.

Meet the Advisory Board

Marianne & Derek Pedersen

Marianne and Derek Pedersen live in Greenville with their four children and attend Studio Church. After becoming licensed as foster parents in 2024, they realized the importance of meeting other foster families in the community. Their passion for helping to lead the huddle is to create a welcoming community where foster, kinship, and adoptive families can encourage one another, share experiences, and ensure that no family has to walk this journey alone.

Ryan & Beverly Quinn

Ryan and Beverly attend Grace Church in Simpsonville, SC. They have been foster parents since 2019 while raising their three biological children. Ryan serves on the board of Fostering the Family, and together they enjoy serving with the Greenville County support group.

Ryan and Beverly believe every child deserves to feel safe, loved, and seen. They are grateful for the opportunity to encourage and support foster, adoptive, and kinship families as they walk alongside them in their journey.

Kara & Austin Kistner

Hi! I’m Kara Kistner, and my husband, Austin, and I are passionate about serving vulnerable children and strengthening the families who care for them. We currently serve as kinship caregivers to our twin cousins after navigating the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) process between Tennessee and South Carolina. Prior to this season, we were licensed therapeutic foster parents in Virginia, where we provided respite care and welcomed two long-term sibling placements into our home; one that ultimately transitioned to an adoptive placement and another that successfully reunified with family.

Our family’s journey has deepened our passion for supporting foster, adoptive, and kinship families so they never have to walk this road alone. We have experienced firsthand the value of practical support, encouragement, and authentic community, and we believe the local church has a unique opportunity to care for vulnerable children by surrounding families with hope and tangible support.

Professionally, I have a background in communications, marketing, and nonprofit support. I love connecting people, building meaningful partnerships, and creating opportunities for churches and communities to come together in support of children and families.

Austin and I are grateful to call the Upstate home, and we’re excited to serve Greenville, Pickens, and Spartanburg counties through Fostering the Family. Our hope is to help ignite communities to care for foster, adoptive, and kinship families because we believe every family deserves to feel seen, supported, and never alone.

Fostering the Family Provides Several Ways You Can Get Involved

Awareness

Volunteer sitting at a Fostering the Family table with informational print outs for people to take with them.

Fostering the Family holds awareness and recruitment events to educate the public. The purpose of each event is to raise awareness, recruit foster families, recruit Guardian Ad Litem volunteers, and most of all ask The Church to pray.

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Upcoming Events

Coming soon!

Support Services

Greenville County Support Group members watching a PowerPoint presentation together at tables with chairs surrounding the tables.

Foster Families have additional stress placed on their entire family. Children in foster care have monthly visits with their DSS case worker, placement agency, Guardian ad Litem volunteer, therapy, and court dates. Often children are behind in school. Many times foster parents work to provide the children in care with the same opportunities as their biological children, all contributing to extra stress. Support services help provide consistency through FAMs and Support Groups.

Request a Care Community

Request to Volunteer on a Care Community Team/ Schedule a call to hear about ways to serve

Resource Network

Regional Manager delivering supplies to a family in need of Tangible Needs.

Once biological parents have successfully completed their treatment plan, DSS requires a safe living space for their children to return to. To avoid the children going back into foster care, our Resource Network helps provide simple needs for these families. These include items such as beds, cribs, car seats, and adequate food. Additionally, children often enter foster care with only a few items, and foster families need help meeting their foster children’s initial needs. Fostering the Family works with local church ministries to build Resource Networks in SC. When a church already has an established ministry, together we can work on building a Network that focuses on meeting the needs of the general population BEFORE disruption of the family happens!

Foster/Kinship/Adoptive Recruitment & Growth

We work with foster placement agencies to provide support for foster families and assist with training and recruitment.

South Carolina (Midlands Approved Placement Agencies)

Connie Maxwell, Epworth, Growing Homes S.E. Lutheran Services, National Youth Advocate Program, Nightlight Foster Care Program, Oasis of Hope, Pinnacle Family Services, SAFY, SC YAP

Tangible Needs Portal

Foster/Kinship/ Adoptive Recruitment & Growth

We work with foster placement agencies to provide support for foster families and assist with training and recruitment.

South Carolina (Midlands Approved Placement Agencies)

Connie Maxwell, Epworth, Growing Homes S.E. Lutheran Services, National Youth Advocate Program, Nightlight Foster Care Program, Oasis of Hope, Pinnacle Family Services, SAFY, SC YAP

Tangible Needs Portal

One important way to meet needs locally is through our: Tangible Needs Portal Help a child take a step toward stability today. The Landing Platform provides a list of immediate needs of children, families, and young adults in the child welfare system. This is your opportunity to get involved in a child’s life: NOW!

Meet Local Needs

Join our Network of Churches

Bring Awareness to Your Church

Join a Foster, Adoption, or Kinship Support Group

Become a Guardian Ad Litem