Teddi Garrick

Growing up in Tennessee, Brittney Conroy’s home life was riddled with divorce, addiction, and mental health strug­gles. The conflict and confusion left Brittney feeling lonely and different from kids who came from stable homes. The thing that saved her, she said, was her knack for finding good fam­ilies to latch onto. “These families, usually my … Read more

Bernice Porter Riggs of Lexington remembers the cold December day in 1951 when her father dropped her and her three sisters off at Epworth. At the time Bernice, nicknamed Bunny, was 10, and her sisters were 7, 8 and 12 years of age. Until then, the girls had spent most of their lives with their … Read more

Lowcountry resident Qwan Butler, 46, grew up in a large extended family and knew from an early age that she wanted children. In 2020, after moving to a larger home, she applied to become a foster parent with Epworth. Soon after the first foster child placed in Qwan’s home was reunited with her birth family, … Read more

Akira stood over the stove, frying bacon for herself and her cottage mates. After everyone filled their plates, she placed leftovers in the refrigerator, washed the pan and wiped down the kitchen surfaces. Her cooking and housekeeping skills were honed by years of helping her parents take care of her younger siblings. It was her … Read more

Charleston couple Allison and Bo Cordle are the kind of people willing to take bold chances to create the most fulfilling and meaningful lives possible. Their courage, sense of adventure and open hearts led them to sail the ocean, spend time in dozens of foreign countries, and foster – and ultimately adopt – five beautiful … Read more

Epworth’s growing Foster Care program recruits and supports foster families with training, services, fellowship with other foster parents, and more. When a foster parent chooses to adopt the child or children they are fostering, Epworth supports them through that journey as well. Here is a story about a past Epworth foster parent who is now … Read more

Gina and Albert, a South Carolina couple in their mid-30s, invited Amelia, now 16, into their rural home in 2021. “Amelia was my cousin’s child,” Gina said. “Her mom died when she was very young, and her grandmother cared for her as long as she could. When it became too much for the grandmother, we … Read more

School bus driver Michelle Harris, 52, said that growing up in New York as the only child of a single working mom, she lived a sheltered and somewhat spoiled life. “We certainly were not rich, but because I was an only child, I had my own room and I wore nice clothes and enjoyed other … Read more