Past Press

Chris and Kelly’ HOPE received $5,000 from Dabo and Kathleen Swinney’s “All In” Foundation.

The money will be used to support Recovery Campus Programs at C of C and Clemson and to support MUSC’ s Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs. download file

The Recruits:

Furman alumni:
Mark Clary ’91, Jay Hatten ’01, Dave Ellison ’72, Steve Grant ’80, and Don Clardy ’91

When Dave Ellison ’72 and Steve Grant ’80 began building a Northwestern Mutual office nearly four decades ago in Greenville, the first and most important task was finding employees with the drive and confidence to start from the ground up. Luckily, they knew just where to look—right up the road at their alma mater.

“I’ve always felt that college athletes were good prospects for this because they’ve needed to have coaching,” Ellison said. “If they got to become an NCAA athlete, they were achievers. They’ve had to work hard at something, and this business requires hard work.”

Ellison and Grant would know. A standout tennis player under legendary coach Paul Scarpa, Ellison was elected to the Furman Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992, while Grant was a two-time baseball team captain playing for Tom Wall. Over the years, Ellison’s recruiting efforts have produced a steady supply of Paladins at what now ranks as the fifth-largest Northwestern Mutual branch in the country. Click here to view article | Link to PDF

Heroin’s New Face

As the drugs have gotten deadlier, addiction continues its spread into the suburbs… View article | view PDF

Chris and Kelly’s HOPE is proud to be the charity of choice for Furman football coach Bruce Fowler.

Greenville, SC (July 8, 2016) ­– Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson, who finished third in the 2015 Heisman Trophy voting, will be honored during the Seventh Annual South Carolina Coaches for Charity on Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Greenville. Over 300 guests from across the state will be in attendance. view PDF

GREENVILLE, S.C. — WYFF 4’s Chronicle investigated the nationwide epidemic that has moved right here in our own neighborhoods.

Chronicle: Chasing the High focused on the serious health problem of drug addiction and its impact on families and communities. The special investigated how heroin has made a comeback among drug users, and what may surprise many is that it has become a drug of choice in middle class neighborhoods.

During the show, and for an hour after, an expert in the WYFF 4 newsroom answered your questions through an online chat.

Rich Jones is executive director of FAVOR Greenville. The name stands for Faces And Voices Of Recovery.

Steve Grant, founder of Chris Kelly HOPE is interviewed in Part 4.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Look Back: Expert answeres questions during live chat

Ask the Expert Q & A List

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

The father of two young men who died from drug addiction hopes to help other parents avoid the same tragedy. View Interview

“I’ve always helped people, I’ve always been supportive and I’ve always been a giver,” said Grant, who launched the non-profit organization that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for programs helping kids combat addiction.

Grant recognized the signs of addiction in his oldest son, Chris, who at 21-years-old was struggling with drug and alcohol abuse. The father sought treatment, which resulted in thousands of dollars of resources including rehab, therapy, and private schools. Unfortunately, Chris could not be saved. view PDF

By April A. Morris, Published: January 21, 2016

Pictured left to right: Dr. Brian McGee, Provost, Glenn McConnell, JD, President and Steve Grant

Steve receiving his son, Kelly’s, College of Charleston diploma posthumously on December 22, 2015.Kelly earned 117 of the 122 credits needed for his Bachelors of Science in Psychology when he died.

When Steve Grant, founder of Chris and Kelly’s HOPE Foundation, told an acquaintance that he had been hoping to receive the degree his son Kelly had been working on at College of Charleston, it was spoken in passing.

Grant had lost Kelly to drug addiction in 2010 just short of graduation; and just five years before, his son Chris had died from the same cause.

Grant launched Chris and Kelly’s HOPE Foundation in 2012 to support addiction treatment programs for adolescents and young adults, including the White Horse Academy treatment facility for teenagers.

Grant had been talking with Steve Pulley, a 28-year-old student at Medical University of South Carolina, who was in long-term recovery from addiction. Grant had connected with Pulley while he was working with programs to support students in recovery.

“I had commented that I regretted not getting Kelly’s degree,” Grant said, and was surprised when Pulley “called me two weeks before Christmas and said College of Charleston was going to award Kelly’s degree.” He traveled to Charleston Dec. 22 to pick up the degree.

“Kelly was a good student and in good standing. It was a great Christmas present,” he said.

In addition to raising funds for Chris and Kelly’s HOPE Foundation, Grant is involved in helping launch the College of Charleston Collegiate Recovery Program.

College recovery

Steve Grant learned from Steve Pulley about campus recovery programs that support students recovering from addiction. Pulley completed a Ride 4 Recovery fundraiser in 2014, cycling 3,133 miles across the country in 57 days to mark his long-term recovery and benefit his alma mater Georgia Southern University’s Center for Addiction Recovery.

College of Charleston is in the early stages of a Collegiate Recovery Program with the support of the administration, Pulley said. When launched, it will be the first in the state, he said. Nationwide, more than 100 programs support students, including Penn State’s on-campus program and Vanderbilt University’s recovery housing.

The peer-to-peer support offered by these programs is essential and effective, and the programs can also attract out-of-state students, he said. Pulley is now a Medical University of South Carolina doctoral student studying physical therapy. He said he never would have made it to where he is now without the Georgia Southern program.

“It gives college students in recovery the chance to succeed and pursue their dreams,” he said.

view PDF

August 29, 2015

Steve Grant has been named the 2015 “COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER LEADER” for the State of South Carolina by the South Carolina Association for Volunteer Administration. Steve will receive his award on September 25th at the Governor’s mansion in Columbia SC.

August 19, 2015 was the Ribbon Cutting for Serenity Village at Serenity Place. Chris and Kelly’s HOPE supports financially both Serenity Place and The White Horse Academy through gifts to The Family Effect. Today’s Ceremony opened 3 houses for transitional extended living for women who have completed treatment along with their children. Houses were donated by The ScanSource Foundation, the All In Foundation and the Family Effect Board.

November 12, 2014
Chris and Kelly’s HOPE Foundation received a generous grant from Clemson Football head coach Dabo Swinney and his wife Kathleen from their “All In Team” Foundation. Their Foundation has changed lives for the better and will help Chris and Kelly’s HOPE continue our mission to help adolescents and young adults who struggle with substance abuse and addiction.