The Big 3 make it all possible

For more than 77 years, Trident United Way has served the Tri-County thanks to three important elements: donors, partners and volunteers.

This edition is a special yearly look at how because of you, we've impacted more than 252,000 lives in the past year alone! That's more people than can fill all the football and basketball facilities at major South Carolina colleges and universities.

Thank you to so many who came together during challenging times to LIVE UNITED.
What does $250 million look like?

When you look at 77 years of service to our community, it equals more than a quarter of a billion dollars - $250 million - of direct funding throughout the Tri-County.

From children hosting bake sales and creative fundraisers such as Sing United, to individuals and corporate partners coming together to show community support with years of dedication, the Tri-County is the beating heart of South Carolina.

During a pandemic, you've helped keep the lights on for families, put food on their tables and provided hope.

Our 211 Helpline and Resource Connection Centers are serving thousands of neighbors at full-speed thanks to your support. Requests for help remain high and our staff is working hard to assist as many people as possible.

The quote below is from a woman facing eviction. She was unable to pay her rent and utility bills due to a variety of life circumstances. Your support led her to emailing us a thank you that really shows the difference you're making.
Trident United Way builds partnerships by bringing groups together to take on challenges that no other single organization could solve alone.

We bring together nearly 600 organizations, through initiatives such as Healthy Tri-County, Safety Net Assistance Network, Resource Connection Centers, Kindergarten Readiness Network and our unique CharityTracker program.

Last month, our Healthy Tri-County yearly symposium brought together more than 250 people from the health, business and nonprofit sectors to discuss challenges and opportunities in the health space. This multi-sector collaboration unites to serve for the greater good.

Corporate partners are also essential to our efforts. From financial, volunteer and logistic support, we can't serve without them. Take UPS; they donated facility space, trucks and labor for our successful school supply drive. (pictured above).

To everyone who comes together to make life better for all, we salute you and give our sincerest thank you!
As donors provide funding and partners provide direct assistance: volunteers provide the heart and soul for our work.

Despite the challenges of 2020 and today, our volunteers have not wavered in their commitment to our community.

This section could take up multiple pages but, we've promised to keep our insights brief in newsletters - so what better way to sum up all things volunteerism than our Days of Caring. The one-day event became three days this year and is likely happening as you read this.

Pictured right: Volunteer from MUSC Health Surgery Dept. working at Styles Elementary
Since 2000, tens of thousands of corporate and individual volunteers have come together to work on thousands of projects across the Tri-County. From painting homes to planting flowers and cleaning, Days of Caring aims to rally support to help people and organizations who could use some extra hands.

Click here for more pictures from this year's Days of Caring. We thank the thousands of volunteers for their support over the years and look forward to new and innovative ways to engage our community during ever-changing times.

Pictured above: Volunteers from Humana planting a garden at the Children's Museum of the Lowcountry
A cornucopia of blessings

November ushers in seasonal reminders and symbols of the gratitude we share, much like the cornucopia.

According to Webster's Dictionary, cornucopia comes from the Latin cornu copiae, which translates to "horn of plenty." A staple of feasts, the cornucopia is believed to represent the horn of a goat from Greek mythology from which the god Zeus was fed from as an infant. Later, the horn was filled with flowers and fruits and given to Zeus as a present. The filled horn (or a receptacle resembling it) has long served as a traditional symbol in art and decoration to suggest a store of abundance.

While our challenges have been mighty recently, you've made sure that the cornucopia for those in need remains filled. From your gifts of time, expertise or contributions, the Trident United Way horn of plenty is positively impacting lives daily.

While we know the effects of the pandemic will be felt for years to come, your generosity ensures that our cornucopia is filled in order for us to serve others. Our Board of Directors, staff, neighbors and I sincerely thank you for your partnership now and into the future.
tuw - in the news