United Way Visits Bluffton Rotary

 

 

Tina Gentry President & CEO of the United Way of the Lowcountry, and a current member of the Sea Island Rotary Club in Beaufort, spoke to the Bluffton Rotary Club on Wednesday December 14 about some of the changes with the United Way of the Lowcountry over the past three years. The most important change has been a shift from a focus. While the organization is focused on meeting the immediate needs of residents with areas such as rent, utilities, food, shelter and medical needs, their focus has been expanded to identify root causes and eliminate future needs.

 

United Way of the Lowcountry operates a 24 x 7 Helpline and they are connected to other agencies in the area. They serve as an advocate to many individuals that need help going through different agencies or who seem to get lost in the system. Gentry talked about the increase in volume since Hurricane Matthew, where many residents have fallen behind after having to evacuate; residents not  bringing in revenue because of loss of jobs after Matthew and even helping with tree removal from homes. The United Way of the Lowcountry is also involved in education in Beaufort and Jasper Counties and Gentry talked about the agency’s focus on early childhood education, especially the need to read at grade level by third grade. According to Gentry, “the majority of people who come to us for help have one major crisis and fall behind.” With Charity Tracker, a system that United Way of the Lowcountry requires all supporting agencies to use, individuals requesting help are tracked through the system, from whichever agency they come from, how many times they request help and what is changing in their situation.

 

For more information or to get involved, check their website: http://uwlowcountry.org/