A Message from Dick & Tunky Riley

Honorary Campaign Chairs

I am very pleased that Tunky and I agreed to represent A Child’s Haven as Honorary Chairs of this capital campaign. Thousands of Greenville’s children are suffering in poverty, through no fault of their own. A Child’s Haven gives us the ability to lift and transform their lives, and in the end, transform ourselves.

For more than forty years, Tunky and I worked to bring education, health and prosperity to all citizens of South Carolina. We began to understand early on that a child’s experiences in poverty often serve as root cause for many other problems, including poor school performance, mental illness, violence, addiction and continuing poverty. The social and economic costs to us all, at every level of society and government, are staggering and unsustainable.

But there is good news. Finding these children early – and providing the tools they need to succeed – can dramatically improve their chances for a healthy, productive life.

This is the mission of A Child’s Haven...to build magnificent success stories for Greenville’s most desperate children. A powerful combination of clinical treatment for the child and intensive guidance for the parents brings hope and lasting change to families who may not otherwise survive.

The old Armstrong School was built in 1963, the same year I began my first elected office as a Representative in the South Carolina Legislature. And now, with your support, this great old building will become the largest treatment center in the Southeast for neglected and abused children. What a wonderful testament to this community and its generous people.

We can’t do it without you. Please join me, and Tunky in spirit, as we Grow a Haven and Lift a Life. And thank you in advance for your generosity and leadership.

Dick Riley
Former Governor of South Carolina
Former United States Secretary of Education