A woman in a bright orange sweater holding a white mug, standing next to a Soteria Graduate in a blue graduation gown and cap, in an indoor setting decorated with holiday tinsel and a small Christmas tree.

Make an Impact

If you are inspired by the mission & work of Soteria & would like to get involved, let us know!

We regularly schedule training sessions for our volunteers for individuals, organized groups, and churches. To get started, please submit a Volunteer Application.

Volunteer Application
Toothbrush and toothpaste on a white surface with other dental care products in the background.

Donate

Monetary Donations

Your financial support helps make our work possible. Click the button below to give in any amount.

Donate
Two smiling men standing outdoors in front of a large tree, holding small bags, with a bean bag toss game on the ground in front of them.

Volunteer

YOUR TIME IS INVALUABLE

Soteria has a wide range of volunteer opportunities. Submit our Volunteer Application, and we will be in touch.

Volunteer Application
A barber cutting a young boy's hair in a salon, using electric clippers, with a patriotic-themed cape draped over the boy.

Employ

JOBS NOT JAILS

Stability starts with employment. Join us as we financially empower men and women to thirve. Become a Second Chance Employer.

Second Chance Employer FAQS

Items to Donate

Individuals come to Soteria straight from prison, often with just the shirts on their backs.  We welcome each program participant with a first day basket, full of toiletries and other essential items. Each Soteria House also has a clothing closet that men and women can visit when they arrive to find the clothes they need. Both First Day Baskets and our Clothing Closets are fueled by donations from the community. If you’re interested in helping meet these needs, here are a few lists of items that we are always in need of replenishing.

Various dental hygiene items on a table, including a tube of Crest toothpaste, a toothbrush in a plastic wrapper, and other dental products in the background.

Donations

Items for Women:

  • First Day Kits (Bible, toothpaste, toothbrush, dental floss, soaps, deodorant, hair care, feminine products, socks, bottled water, washcloths)

  • Women’s Clothing (gently-used, S-XL)

  • Women’s shoes

  • Underwear, Bras & Gift Cards for special sizing

  • Coats, Jackets, Raincoats

  • Non-perishable food items

Items for Men:

  • First Day Kits (Bible, toothpaste, toothbrush, dental floss, soap, deodorant, shaving cream, socks, bottled water, washcloths)

  • Men’s clothing (gently-used, M-XL)

  • Men’s shoes

  • Boxer shorts

  • Non-perishable food items

Mentor and Mentee smiling, one wearing a holiday necklace, the other in a red turtleneck sweater, standing in an indoor setting.
Mentor and his wife hugging a Soteria graduate in what appears to be a church or chapel, with stained glass windows in the background.
Mentor and Mentee standing outdoors on grass, holding beer cans and smiling, with a cornhole game in front of them and trees in the background.

Mentor

Mentors take the time to visit our previously incarcerated interns on a regular basis and spend time both getting to know them and also providing encouragement and support.  Consistency is key here.  Mentors can decide with their mentees how often to visit, but once set – their job is to be a source of stability and trust.

Correspondence Mentor

When people talk about what helped them decide to turn their lives around, they often credit a correspondence mentor.  Someone from the outside community who cares and stays in touch with them can make all the difference.

Soteria CDC will match you with an incarcerated individual, and all letters to and from your mentee will be sent through Soteria and screened.

Professional Service

The guys that enter Soteria have spent years or even lifetimes engulfed in a world where trust, stability, and healthy relationships are foreign entities.  They come to Soteria to start a new life, but that is not an easy task.  We need professionals to help treat and guide these men, so we are always looking for:

  • Medical Care

  • Substance Abuse Counseling

  • Relationship Counseling

  • Financial Management

Board Member

We are looking for motivated individuals to support, lead, and represent Soteria’s work in the greater community. If you are interested, please review our Board Member Expectations & Responsibilities. Apply here >

A young boy with curly red hair getting a haircut by a male barber in a salon or barber shop. The boy's hair is being cut with electric clippers, and they are using an American flag-themed cape draped around the boy.

Employ

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

We can’t say it enough.  Employment may be the most critical component of what we do at Soteria.  If men & women cannot find work, they will return to the streets.  At Soteria, we not only find jobs for our program participants, but we help them build careers in their fields of interest.

We match those who want to own restaurants with jobs in hospitality.  We help future barbers and truck drivers obtain certification.  If a man or woman has a dream career, then Soteria looks for opportunities to build the experience required to turn that dream into a reality.

Work with us.

The men and women we serve complete life skills training, financial management classes, and have savings accounts, and would be great employees.

INTERESTED IN BECOMING A SECOND CHANCE EMPLOYER?

LEARN MORE

DID YOU KNOW?

Soteria was instrumental in getting “Ban the Box” passed in the City of Greenville - a measure that the city made in 2019 to encourage employers to get to know their applicants before inquiring about their criminal backgrounds.

Our Partners

  • Amplify Fund logo with text 'Neighborhood Funders Group'
  • Soteria Partner - Buncombe Street United Methodist Church
  • Downtown Presbyterian logo with a geometric tree design
  • Soteria Partner - Fellowship Greenville
  • Soteria Partner - First Baptist Greenville
  • Logo of the CCESLA Reformata Seminary, featuring a cross with rays and a shield with a sword.
  • Soteria Partner - Grace & Peace Presbyterian
  • Soteria Partner - Grace Covenant
  • Soteria Partner - Greenville Health Authority
  • Logo of Harvest Hope Food Bank featuring a tree with a heart-shaped trunk and the organization name.
  • Soteria Partner - Hollingsworth Funds
  • Logo of House of Rafeord with stylized text and banner.
  • Soteria Partner - Indigo Hope
  • Soteria Partner - Investinet
  • Soteria Partner - ITIC
  • Soteria Partner - LMG Architects
  • Logo of Long Branch Baptist Church featuring a cross with the church's acronym LBBC and full name.
  • Soteria Partner - McMillan Pazdan Smith
  • Soteria Partner - Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church
  • Soteria Partner - Openfields
  • Soteria Partner - Park National Bank
  • Soteria Partner - Piper Insurance
  • Soteria Partner - Prisma Health
  • Soteria Partner - Propel HR
  • Soteria Partner - Renfrew Church
  • Soteria Partner - Richard Kay Superstore
  • Soteria Partner - Rotary International
  • Soteria Partner - Samaritan Biologics
  • Logo of South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development, featuring a palm tree between a crescent moon and a star, with the acronym SCACED and the full name surrounding the image.
  • Soteria Partner - Schrock Custom Woodworks
  • Logo of Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, featuring a stylized flower or star with the organization's name beneath it.
  • Soteria Partner - Southern First
  • Soteria Partner - Spinx
  • Soteria Partner - St Andrews Episcopal
  • Logo of United Ministries with a decorative swirl icon above the text.
  • Soteria Partner - Trehel
  • Soteria Partner - Truliant
  • United Way logo featuring a hand cradling a rainbow or arch
  • United Bank logo in gray with shield emblem
  • Village Church logo with a circular emblem and the text 'Village Church'
  • Logo for Weekes Construction, Inc., featuring a grid of squares and the text 'Since 1970 Weekes Construction, Inc.'
  • Wells Fargo logo in gray text
  • Westminster Presbyterian Church logo with the letters 'WPC' and a cross design