Ellen Hines Smith Girls' Home

About the Ellen Hines Smith Girls' Home of Spartanburg

One of Zeta Eta's local philanthropies is the Spartanburg Ellen Hines Smith Girls' Home (EHSGH). The Spartanburg Girls' Home was founded in 1974 to provide a safe, home-like environment for teenage girls in Spartanburg. Many teenage girls in the Spartanburg area were being treated like delinquents while going through the family court system. To prevent this injustice to the girls, Ellen Hines Smith and members of the Junior League of Spartanburg founded the Girls' Home. Today the EHSGH continues its mission to offer around-the-clock care in a "safe, structured, home-like environment." Girls between the ages of eleven and nineteen come to stay at the home. Staff at the home provide school support and oversee activities to build skills that will help to foster productive lives in the future. The Girls' Home depends entirely on community volunteers and donations.

The EHSGH hosts up to 21 girls at a time, sheltering them from situations of neglect and abuse. The Girls' Home provides services that the girls staying there could not otherwise have access to: nutritious meals, on-campus schooling, oversight of medical care, recreational activities and service learning, and liasons (like CASA volunteers) to caseworkers and family members.

To raise money, the Girls' Home hosts events like Marchtini Madness and Tinis & Tapas. Girls from our Theta chapter often volunteer at these events.

How We Get Involved with the EHSGH

Aside from volunteering at events like Tinis & Tapas each year, every month a few Zeta Eta sisters go to the EHSGH to watch a movie and paint nails with girls at the Home. We always have a blast chatting and spending time with the girls!

To find out more about the Ellen Hines Smith Girls' Home, go to www.spgirlshome.com.