The Knollwood Foundation was started by a group of friends who grew up together in the same neighborhood in Mauldin, South Carolina.
As kids, they rode their bikes together. In middle school, they rode their skateboards together. Before they could drive, they rode their mopeds together. When they got their licenses, they drove their cars together.
Then, they went to college…not together.
After they graduated, it took a while, but they all returned home — starting their families in the same area where they grew up.
One friend’s birthday is on Christmas, so in 2004, in the spirit of the classic movie “A Christmas Story” they gave him a birthday party at a Chinese restaurant in Mauldin. All they asked of the people who came was that they bring canned goods to give to a local food pantry.
That event, the first “Christmas in Mauldin,” was where the Knollwood Foundation began.
Each year the event grew, and so did its mission.
By 2009, they incorporated the loose group and registered it with the South Carolina Secretary of State because they knew they had an opportunity to make a real difference in their community.
As an “official” organization, the Knollwood Foundation’s event refined its focus to impact Mauldin — collecting donations and food for school backpack programs so that kids who might only receive a meal at school would have food to take home and eat without having the fear of going hungry.
In 2014, the IRS granted the Knollwood Foundation 501(c)(3) status so that anyone who shared in the Foundation’s mission could more easily contribute.
That’s just the beginning of the story. Let’s see where we go from here.
The Board
Lance Crick • Dr. Derek Dunlap • David Greer • Taft Matney