Our 4 Focus Areas
Connecting our Community
Our greatest natural resource for community impact is volunteerism and collaboration among partners and individuals. the Black River United Way focuses on ways to bring partners together to better support and work together. Through 2-1-1, Americorps VISTA, Day of Caring and Volunteer Fairs and Emergency Food and Shelter Program we help bring unlikely partners together to build capacity for all. It’s all about Living United.
Housing Recovery from Disasters
With over 700 families still seeking assistance for repairs from the 2015 Floods, the task ahead is huge. In partnership with Catholic Charities, Habitat for Humanity Georgetown County, Salvation Army, Black River United Way is coordinating the massive effort to get our families back into safe, sanitary, and secure living conditions by supporting volunteer construction crews, securing financial and material resources, and working with the families still in need of assistance. Learn More
Third Grade Reading Initiative
Based on last year's 2015 ACT Aspire State Assessment Test, 66% of children were not ready or exceeding in reading. In Williamsburg County, 82.4% fell into that category. These numbers are unacceptable. Children who cannot read at 3rd grade are 4x more likely to drop out of school. 69% of those drop outs will be incarcerated. This cycle must stop. We have set a goal for 100% of our 3rd graders to be reading at grade level. Joining partners together for change through county school districts, businesses, non-profits, faith communities, Americorps volunteers, and individuals, Black River United Way is committed to our children and their future. Learn More
Career Readiness & Workforce Development
We are working with businesses, industries, non-profit partners, government, and faith communities to create a pipeline of education and training opportunities for students, unemployed and underemployed residents to gain the skills and knowledge to secure a career that will adequately support their family. Funds will support the identified gaps and the programs that are moving people out of poverty through education and targeted skill training.
In the News
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Recent News
It's TAX TIME!!
Black River United Way has invested your community dollars into expanding the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) service for Georgetown and Williamsburg County. Daphne Smith who has volunteered with VITA for the last decade has been hired part time to expand the services in our community and she has done an amazing job of setting up new sites and opportunities to get our residents free tax prep services in collaboration with the IRS.
There will be 8 sites throughout the counties which will begin opening next week. Most of the sites will provide trained volunteers to assist those earning $55,000 or less to complete and file their federal and state tax returns free of charge. This year, thanks to a partnership with our friends at Palmetto Goodwill, we will have two self-serve sites open at the Goodwill Stores in Georgetown and Murrells Inlet. At these sites, anyone wishing to file their federal and state taxes can do so using the very user friendly software free of charge that will be set up in the computer labs at both locations.
Please encourage your friends, clients, neighbors to use this amazing free service and DISCOURAGE them from paying high fees tax software or rapid refund services that charge upwards of 35% of an individual’s return.
If you have questions please feel free to call 843-372-1599 (Williamsburg County) and 843-543-4333 or 843-833-8310 (Georgetown County) or the Black River United Way office at 843-546-6317 or 2-1-1.
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Black River United Way |