Hartsville United Way kicks off $275,000 fund drive for 2010
By JIM FAILE
The United Way of Hartsville launched a campaign to raise $275,000 in 2010 for Hartsville area service agencies with a kickoff breakfast Friday at CareSouth Carolina.
Representatives of the various agencies funded by the United Way were on hand for the event along with representatives of area businesses that contribute to the United Way annually.
�I want everyone to know how appreciative we are of the work you do,� said T.C. Sawyer, executive director of the United Way of Hartsville. �We are very excited about the coming year. I want to thank the agencies for doing what you do. Job well done.�
The theme of this year�s campaign is Live United, Sawyer said.
�We are changing the way we think,� he said. �We want to try not to leave anyone behind in whatever we do.�
He said the United Way of Hartsville will focus on three general areas of community interest: Income, health and education.
�A lot of you already focus on one or more of those areas,� he told the agency representatives.
He said the organization�s emphasis will be on improving the community overall. �It benefits all of us when we can get one child out of high school to graduate,� he said. Keeping people healthy so that they don�t have to visit the doctor or hospital as often benefits the whole community, he said.
�If we can improve the financial stability of one family, we all benefit,� Sawyer said.
Just 1 percent of the money raised by The United Way in Hartsville goes to the national United Way headquarters in Alexandria, Va., Sawyer said. And just 0.6 percent goes to the state headquarters.
All of the rest of the money stays in the Hartsville area, he said.
Sawyer said that with the current state of the economy and the high rate of unemployment in the area, United Way�s funding and the services provided by the agencies it serves are needed much more than before. �There are a lot of us asking for help,� he said.
One of the newest agencies to become a Hartsville United Way agency is Darlington County First Steps to School Readiness.
Executive Director Darnell McPherson said the funds her agency will receive from United Way of Hartsville will help the First Steps program expand its Parents as Teachers program, a program that works in the home with parents on child development issues.
The program is 25 years old but has been in Darlington County for just two years, McPherson said.
She said the program is designed to encourage parental involvement in children�s education. �Whatever happens in the schools, if it�s not sustained in the home, it�s all for naught,� she said.
Mark Sobiski, development manager for CareFirst, the support organization for CareSouth Carolina, said United Way funding will enhance CareSouth�s ability to assist Hartsville area residents in getting the medical services they need.
CareSouth, a community health care center that serves several Pee Dee counties and is headquartered in Hartsville, is the second agencies to become a new Hartsville United Way agency.
Sobiski said CareSouth facilities in the Pee Dee see about 37,000 patients a year system-wide with about 5,000 a year coming into the Hartsville center.
Gary Harris of the Pee Dee Council of the Boy Scouts of America, said United Way funding is important in helping the council maintain its nearly $800,000 a year operation.
He said the organization is seeking to assist the large number of at-risk youth in the area through scouting programs. �We want to produce good, productive citizens,� he said.
�We�re here to assist you,� Sawyer told the agency representatives. �We want to increase the common good for families and people in this area and create opportunities for families and people in this area.�
Other United Way of Hartsville agencies include the Boys and Girls Club of Hartsville, Darlington County Council on Aging, Darlington County Disabilities and Special Needs Board, Free Medical Clinic of Darlington County, Girl Scout Council of the Pee Dee, Hartsville Rescue Squad, Hartsville Family YMCA, Helping Hand Club of Hartsville, Lake Robinson Rescue Squad, Mental Health of America in Darlington County, the Hartsville Chapter of the Pee Dee Big Brother Association, Pee Dee Chapter of the American Red Cross, Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault � Hartsville, Pee Dee Speech and Hearing Center and the Salvation Army.