We are all hopeful the new year will lead to healthier and happier lives. To say 2020 was challenging for us, our partners and clients, would be a massive understatement.

Trident United Way's 76-year tradition of serving came to life this past year. United, we rose up and innovated while focusing on serving those in need. Our Community Impact team touched thousands of lives, working at all hours to do it.

Our Trident United Way teams upgraded technology to serve clients better remotely, using portable scanners to send vital documents to service providers so clients could obtain urgently needed help.

The pandemic strengthened our partnerships with service providers to work together to serve people without delay.

Annual events such as Day of Caring forged ahead both virtually and in-person following all public health guidelines.

Our commitment to serve remains strong and we look forward to working together to create opportunities that no other organization can do. Last year was tough, but UNITED, we will continue to lead through service to the community.

Please scroll down to our Financial Stability section to learn more about our 2020 service and innovations for 2021.

Chances are you were overwhelmed with communications in 2020 with a pandemic, election year and pressing social justice issues.

Trident United Way wants to keep you informed while valuing your time. Please take this 30-second survey where you can tell us what types of stories and communication methods you prefer.

Thanks to generous donors and partnerships with all four Tri-County school districts, Trident United Way had its most successful education program ever with the Tri-County Reading by Third Project, which boosted reading grade level 24% on average.

Click here or below to see a Reading by Third testimonial one minute video

Reading by Third lives on in a new three-year program called Literacy United. It's a partnership of Trident United Way, Charleston County School District, University of Florida Lastinger Center and community leaders and philanthropists.

COVID-19 changed how Trident United Way directly serves clients. The days of having clients just walk into Resource Connection Centers disappeared and we had to come up with new solutions to serve a quickly growing client base.

Faced with adversity, a team of four of our direct service providers put their lives on hold to serve our community.

Instead of answering client calls in the office, calls went directly to cell phones, seemingly at all hours of the day and night.

Trident United Way and our AmeriCorps team worked overtime to handle the crush of service requests.

Among the innovations for 2020/2021:

Service delivery methods for 2021 will continue to adjust based on public health directives, but our commitment to serve will never stop.

Trident United Way is excited to announce a new program that brings the lessons of gardening and healthy lifestyles to our schools.

The School Gardening for SC Educators program gives students an appreciation for healthy lifestyles while getting hands-on experience and learn where our food is grown or originates.

The Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas grant brings together our schools with a Clemson Extension program that combines horticulture training, ongoing technical support and equipment for schools to start and sustain school gardens.

COVID-19 has shown a clear linkage between chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease and higher levels of hospitalizations.

This spring, Trident United Way will be announcing which schools will receive funding to start their own gardens and specialized healthy lifestyle programs. Students eating nutritious and healthy foods are well positioned to be better learners which can guide them throughout life.

Click here for more on how Trident United Way is bringing the program to the Tri-County.

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