Our Story
You first see it in their eyes, a moment of connection and recognition, then of insight, then a smile. Then: understanding.
This is learning, and it’s our mission to make such magic moments possible and plentiful for every child in South Carolina by leveling up opportunities at schools challenged by economic shortfalls. Education has long been the responsibility of government, but the reality today is that in our most rural areas, shortages result in limited offerings, and the children who most need buoying fall behind faster, with more dire long-term consequences.
We aim to change that. Our foundation serves as not only the funder but the backbone of programming designed to provide the support young learners need to thrive. We work arm-in-arm with teachers to develop gap-filling extensions for their schools, focusing on areas of most need. We do this through our two primary programs, O6 Afterschool and My First Library.
The results, and the children, speak for themselves. “That’s cool,” and “Watch me,” and “Look what I did,” are common refrains, and they’re declarations we never tire of hearing.
Every child is filled with potential and deserving of a good education. When we make that available, we open eyes, and minds, and worlds.
The Original Six Foundation was founded in 2011 by then South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to serve as a non-partisan facilitator and funding mechanism to assist South Carolina’s neediest communities. In recent years, and under her direction, the Foundation’s mission has sharpened to focus solely on literacy initiatives for schools in rural and underserved areas of the state. It is work about which she feels great passion; Ambassador Haley grew up in Bamberg, SC, and is a proud product of that rural community.
I want children to think big and dream big and know that growing up in a small, rural town is special.
Nikki Haley
Former SC Governor and US Ambassador
Why the name Original Six?
This is how Ambassador Haley’s parents, Dr. Ajit Randhawa and Mrs. Raj Randhawa, refer to their core family of six. The Randhawas came to America from India in 1969 and settled in tiny, rural Bamberg, where they raised four children. Although they faced countless obstacles, Ambassador Haley credits her parents with making sure each child was afforded—and made the most of—every opportunity, educational and otherwise. It is to their honor that she dedicates this work.
