Campaign for Good

Help us create generational change in the Midlands.

1. A New, Whole Family Strategy

   We strengthen family economic stability by simultaneously working with children and the adults in their lives through our signature programs. 

   Our process is based on the Siemer Institute’s Two-Generation model, which accomplishes two outcomes that are the bedrock of breaking the cycle of poverty:

   • increasing income, and;
   • improving housing stability. 

   Siemer, a private family foundation in Ohio, works exclusively with United Ways across the country. The Whole Family Strategy provides long-term case management to help the parents improve their workforce skills to obtain better-paying jobs, reduce barriers such as lingering legal issues, and achieve and sustain long-term housing stability in safe neighborhoods. The model also ensures that the children in the family are enrolled in tutoring, after-school, and summer programs to provide for their social and emotional development. 

   Launched in 2021 with a limited reach in only four of our counties, United Way seeks to expand this model to all six of our counties.

   Your gifts secure matching dollars that will help United Way serve even more families by starting with a strong educational foundation, enhancing workforce development skills and building resilience.

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2. A New Opportunity for Workforce Development

   We have an opportunity to create generational change by helping young men of color who are college capable but otherwise would not have gone to college become graduates.

   Workforce development has become a critical need in the Midlands.

   • 60 percent of jobs require post-secondary degrees or certifications. 
   • Only 16 percent of Black men have a bachelor’s degree compared to 33 percent of white males. 

   Young Men United is a workforce-development initiative with a proven track record in other communities. It creates barrier-free pathways for young men of color to pursue their academic and career dreams through paired mentorship, internships, and educational support. 

   In the summer of 2022, the State of South Carolina provided United Way of the Midlands with $350,000 to launch Young Men United to break this cycle of limited educational opportunities. 

   Campaign for Good will support stipends for internships and mentor-matching opportunities, and new case management staff to lead the program.

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3. Increase Affordable Housing by Seeding Innovative Approaches

   If we want a thriving workforce, we must provide quality housing and use creative new approaches.

   The Midlands has an affordable housing crisis, and its symptoms have far-reaching effects.

   • Our community lacks an estimated 50,000 units of affordable housing.
   • Since 2020, the average rent for a onebedroom apartment in South Carolina has increased by 29 percent. 

   United Way of the Midlands can’t solve the affordable housing crisis alone. To start the process, we must invest in our community’s capacity to create affordable housing that is new and innovative, targeted to the people most in need, including workforce housing for young adults and families and single-room housing for low-income, single adults.

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