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Are You Ready?
As the summer progresses, and we approach the height of hurricane season and the start of a new school year, here are a few questions to reflect on.
Did you know that only 51% of Americans believe that they are prepared for disaster (Federal Emergency Management Division)? Or that only 48% of children in Georgetown and Williamsburg Counties enter Kindergarten ready? Or that roughly two-thirds of students in Georgetown and Williamsburg Counties are reading below grade level by the end of the third grade?
While these issues might seem as different as night and day, each of them impact our community’s ability to thrive. Helping our community “be ready”, whether that means kindergarten readiness, 3rd-grade reading success, or disaster preparedness is what we do as a United Way.
So how does Black River United Way help Georgetown and Williamsburg Counties be ready?
The Waccamaw Region for Childhood Success
The Waccamaw Region for Childhood Success (WRCS) is a tri-county initiative with United Way of Horry County focused on children, Birth – 3rd Grade. Through WRCS, we work to accomplish two bold goals; Mission: Ready - ensuring that children are ready for kindergarten by age 5, and Mission: Read - ensuring elementary-age students achieve reading success by the end of the third grade. Programs supported by these initiatives include parent and family engagement programs such as The Basics, Triple P - The Power of Positive Parenting - Classes, and 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, summer programs such as our Kindergarten transition camp, KinderWaves, an out-of-school enrichment program, Summer SAIL, and in-school tutoring and reading programs such as Heroes For Literacy and REAL Mentors.
2. Disaster Resiliency
Disaster Resiliency is BRUW’s initiative that focuses on preparing our community for any natural or man-made disasters. As the lead agency of the Winyah Bay COAD / LTRG (Community Organizations Active in Disaster / Long-Term Recovery Group) we focus our efforts on preparing people, funds, and partners year-round to be effective in a disaster. When a disaster does hit, our role in the COAD / LTRG is to manage the volunteers, in-kind donations, and lead the volunteer reception center. If an event is a federally declared disaster, we are also the fiscal agent and are responsible for distributing FEMA funding to organizations supporting efforts.
BRUW also offers a disaster preparedness training program - Our Be Ready! Workshops. Be Ready! Workshops are developed through FEMA certified training to provide the best possible disaster preparedness education to our community. These workshops provide information and resources to help participants develop their own emergency action plans, and evacuation plans, and create disaster kits. We provide this training to both adults and kids at local schools, community and faith-based groups, businesses, and nonprofit organizations.
Whether it’s making sure our neighbors are prepared for natural or man-made disasters, equipping parents and caregivers to maximize early childhood development, or supporting elementary school students on their literacy journeys - we want to ensure that all in our community are ready for both life's expected and unexpected challenges.
… You may be wondering - how can you “be ready” this summer? Here are two easy ways you can join Black River United Way in being ready:
Prepare for disaster by watching BRUW’s #BeReadyWednesday and #SummerReady series
Each week on social media, we’ve been taking the opportunity to educate our followers about disaster preparedness through #BeReadyWednesday. Right now, we’re focusing on helping our community be #SummerReady with videos featuring summer-specific safety advice (fireworks safety, heatwaves, etc.) You can check out previous videos on our blog here. Be sure to check out our social media on Wednesdays for the latest #BeReadyWednesday and #SummerReady tips.
2. Learn about the Basics
The Basics are five principles that help maximize early childhood brain development. In partnership with the United Way of Horry County, Black River United Way is working to implement the Basics in our community, improving the number of children in the Tri-County area who are developmentally on track and entering kindergarten ready. Whether you are a parent, a caregiver, an educator, or simply interact with children on occasion through your place of business or organization, together we can use the Basics principles to ensure that all children in our community thrive. As we actively launch the Basics in Georgetown and Williamsburg Counties, we invite you, our stakeholders and partners, to join us in bringing this knowledge to the community by learning more. Here is an overview of the Basics featured in this month’s program spotlight here
I hope you’ll join me in taking the opportunity to “be ready” this summer. Together, we can help our community thrive, starting with our own disaster preparedness and how we interact with children to maximize their early brain development through the Basics. Beyond personal readiness in these areas, through your partnership with Black River United Way, you are helping our community “be ready”, whether that means preparing for a disaster, getting ready for kindergarten, or progressing in early-grade literacy.
Thank you for your partnership with Black River United Way to ensure our community has the resources it needs to “be ready”. Be on the lookout for more about Disaster Preparedness and the Basics in the community months via our social media and website.
Your President & CEO,
Yolanda McCray
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