Covering Our Community in Love: Family Support in Elgin, SC & Beyond

Showing up and Supporting Those in Need Since 2017

Warmth you can hold. Love you can feel.

Happy New Day! We’re Blanketing Families, and for years now we’ve been doing one thing: covering our community in love.

Before you go any further, we want you to meet the heart of this work: our volunteers. You’ll know them by their smiles and the care they bring to every event. They show up early and stay late, through cold mornings and summer heat, sorting, packing, lifting, and loving on every neighbor who comes through. They’re the reason any of this is possible.

To every one of you who has given your time, your hands, and your heart: thank you. You are Blanketing Family.

  • Man and boy wearing high-visibility safety vests stand between parked cars outdoors on a sunny day.

    No Family Hungry Free Food Distribution

  • Four people pose beside a cart filled with leafy garden vegetables in a community garden.

    Jack & Jill Chapter of Columbia SC

  • Two people pose beside an open SUV trunk filled with bagged items in a sunny parking lot.

    Blanket Donation

  • Group of adults and a child smiling together outdoors near a street and traffic lights.

    Blanketing Families Inc. Team

  • Group of adults and children posing outside a community yard sale with clothing, crafts, and household items on display

    Blanket Families Yard Sale

  • Two women stand behind a table piled with donated groceries and food bags outdoors.

    No Family Hungry Free Food Distribution

  • Three smiling women pose for a selfie in a grassy backyard with garden beds, patio chairs, trees, and a colorful small shed.

    Jack & Jill Chapter of Columbia SC

Upcoming News & Events

Blanketing Families Inc. Big Thanksgiving Giveaway flyer on November 18 at noon in Elgin, South Carolina, presented with Father's House Ministry.
Blanketing Families lawn care volunteer recruitment flyer for the Elgin Community Garden, seeking volunteers for mowing, weed whacking, trimming, and twice-monthly maintenance.
No Family Hungry Will Return food distribution flyer from Blanketing Families and Father’s House Ministries International, 2 p.m. at Elgin Town Hall in Elgin, South Carolina.
Pink heart-shaped loop icon on a black background

Donate to Help Families in Elgin, SC & Beyond!

Donate Today!

Meet the Founders

Smiling woman wearing white sunglasses, a green cap, scarf, and light-colored coat outdoors

Annette Hammond

Co-Founder and President

Annette Hammond knows what it means to need covering. Years ago, when her husband lost his job, their family lived in their car for a time. Later, she faced cancer, and then faced it again. Through every season, she says, she was held up by her faith and the people God placed around her.

In August 2017, sitting in her living room, Annette asked God what He wanted her to do. The answer came simply: cover others as I have covered you. That same day, the name Blanketing Families was born.

She started with blankets, a handful of volunteers, and Wednesday nights in Columbia’s Finlay Park, handing out warmth and hot meals to neighbors without a home. Her approach has never changed: before anything else, she asks people how their day was, and whether she can pray with them.

Today, Annette leads Blanketing Families’ work across Elgin and Kershaw County, from Thanksgiving potato giveaways to back-to-school drives to holiday outreach. A two-time cancer survivor, she was honored as a Mungo Homes Community Builder in 2018, and in 2021 she and her twin sister, Ann, were named Elgin’s Citizens of the Year.

Smiling woman wearing red glasses and a blue shirt relaxing on a teal sofa beneath framed artwork.

Ann Gilyard

Co-Founder

Every quilt has two sides. There’s the top, bright and pieced together for everyone to see. And there’s the backing, the layer underneath that holds every stitch in place. At Blanketing Families, Ann Pringle is the backing.

You may not always notice her at first. Ann isn’t one for the microphone or the spotlight. But look a little closer at any Blanketing Families event, and you’ll find her there. She’s at every single one, making sure the tables are set, the supplies are counted, and every neighbor who walks up is taken care of.

Long before an event begins, Ann is already at work. She helps plan every giveaway, drive, and outreach, from the first idea to the last box packed. The details others might miss are the ones she’s already handled. Her sister may be the voice of Blanketing Families, but Ann is a big part of the reason the work runs so smoothly, year after year.

Ann has stood beside her twin sister, Annette, from the very beginning, and in 2021 the two were named Elgin’s Citizens of the Year. She’d never say it herself, so we will: without Ann, none of this holds together

Blanketing Families, Inc. Elgin, SC Mama Dee - Helping others in need, SC Non-profits helping the community
Blanketing Families, Inc. Elgin, SC Christmas Parade - Citizens Award - Helping others in need, SC Non-profits helping the community
Blanketing Families, Inc. Elgin, SC - Helping others in need, SC Non-profits helping the community
Blanketing Families, Inc. Elgin, SC Yaney Elementary School - Helping others in need, SC Non-profits helping the community
Blanketing Families, Inc. Elgin, SC Community Garden - Helping others in need, SC Non-profits helping the community
Blanketing Families, Inc. Elgin, SC Founders - Helping others in need, SC Non-profits helping the community
Blanketing Families, Inc. Elgin, SC Bag Making Event - Helping others in need, SC Non-profits helping the community
Blanketing Families, Inc. Elgin, SC Community Garden - Helping others in need, SC Non-profits helping the community

Connect
with us!

We look forward to connecting with you, we’d love to collaborate and work together to empower and support the community. We are always looking for volunteers too!