Dale Douthat
Dear Sommer Lake Neighbor,
I hope this finds you well. Over the past few months, many of you have asked me about the effects of the pandemic on non-profits in our community and how you might be able to help. That’s one of the great things about our little neighborhood and the Lowcountry. We truly care about each other and want to help when we can.
While you may already know about United Way of the Lowcountry (UWLC), I wanted to share what we are doing to help our community through these challenging times and how you can be a part of it.
Through our Community Impact process, local non-profit agencies apply for funding for individual programs that address Education, Health, Income/Family Stability, and Basic Needs. Each application is reviewed and vetted by panels made up of community volunteers like yourself to make sure allocated funds will have the most impact on our community as possible.
Even during this pandemic when we are experiencing a decrease in donations, we are continuing to fund 39 programs at various local agencies, all of which have been vetted by community volunteers. In fact, thanks to financial support from people like you, these programs positively affected more than 148,000 people in our community last year.
Here are a few other ways UWLC is continuing to make an impact in our community through these challenging times.
- We’re advocating at the state and national level to make sure non-profit agencies continue to be included in COVID relief funding.
- We’re providing free training and webinars to non-profits on things like the Paycheck Protection Plan, grant writing, and eviction moratoriums.
- Since the beginning of March, the United Way’s Helpline has guided 3,149 local residents to the assistance they need and provided more than $170,000 in direct financial assistance to those who have nowhere else to turn.
- In the last 12 months, we have given away more than 20,000 books for children to take home to keep them engaged. The goal of our Early Grade Reading program is to work with children in Pre-K through 3rd grade to make sure every child has the opportunity to succeed in school.
As you know, the need is greater than ever before, and I hope you will consider helping us continue to support our community’s non-profit agencies and our neighbors. You can click the donate button below to make your gift. Thank you for your consideration.
Your Neighbor,
Dale Douthat, President & CEO
United Way of the Lowcountry
Click here to donate to the Sommer Lake residential fundraising campaign