08/14/2026
18 shouldn’t mean you’re on your own.
For many young adults growing up without family support, adulthood arrives without the safety net so many of us take for granted.
No parent to call.
No one to help navigate a job, finances, housing or life’s hard decisions.
No one to simply say, “I’m proud of you. Keep going.”
The U.S. Census Bureau’s Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) estimates that in Oconee County, more than 4,400 children are living in poverty, and young adults are facing the challenge of transitioning into adulthood without the family support many of us take for granted.
At SHINE, we believe God has a purpose for every young person. Our volunteers walk alongside them—not to do life for them, but to help them believe in themselves, build a plan and become the confident, independent adults God created them to be.
Sometimes changing a life starts with one person who simply refuses to walk away.
“Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and oppressed.” Psalm 82:3
Who will you walk alongside?
