VOLUNTEER.

ADVOCATE.

GIVE.

Money Raised Locally, STAYS LOCAL! Nearly 93 cents of every dollar raised goes directly to meet critical needs right here in Aiken County.

How your dollars are invested...

United Way of Aiken County, Inc. 235 Barnwell Avenue, NW

Post Office Box 699 Aiken, SC 29801

803.648.8331

In 2015, over 234,450 people were served through United Way of Aiken County funded programs.

10%

19%

21%24%

7%11%

7%

1%

LIVE UNITED

I have had the privilege of assisting the United Way by being a Loan Professional, sitting on the board and on many committees. These experiences have provided me with the insight of first-hand knowledge of where and how the resources are helping the people that are in need in Aiken County. For me our Aiken County United Way is the best way that I can use my time and donations to touch the lives of so many different people. In the words of Albert Schweitzer, “Human life is to serve, show compassion and to help others.” By Living United we do this. We are all connected and together we can do so much to lift people up. I am proud to be a part of a program that touches so many lives in a positive way.

-Sharon Cormier, Centerra -SRS 2016 Campaign Chair

For me Living United is more than words; it is the act of mind, body and

spirit of helping those who need help in our community. It moves me into action; volunteering, promoting and providing financial support.

Help pave the road to self-sufficiency

The Self-Sufficiency Standard for South Carolina calculates how much income families of various sizes and compositions need to make ends meet without public or private assistance. For example, a family of 4 consisting of 2 Adults, 1 preschooler and 1 school-age child in Aiken County… Needs $44,755 to provide the family with:

Food Housing Transportation Health Care Child Care

The United Way of Aiken County, Inc. and its partner agencies are building a path to assist people out of poverty to achieve self-sufficiency. For more information visit: http://www.uwasc.org/scstandard

Join us in making our community

stronger.

2016 Campaign Cabinet

WHERE THE MONEY GOES…INVESTMENTS IN OUR COMMUNITYUnited Way of Aiken County 2016 Funded Programs

Nurturing Our Citizens/Education• Therapeutic Child Care - an enriched program of early

childhood services that has a child care center as its core. The program provides an interdisciplinary treatment program of early childhood education, psycho-social developmental interventions, speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and mental health counseling for children and training through coaching and direct services for parents in their homes and in group meetings. (Children’s Place, Inc.)

• Parent Power Program - This research- and evidence-based program allows Aiken Youth Empowerment’s certified Community Educators to provide educational resources and programming for parents and caregivers which help empower them to improve parent/child relationships, enhance parenting skills and communicate their own values effectively with their children. (Aiken Youth Empowerment, a program of Helping Hands, Inc.)

• Stewards of Children - created by Darkness to Light, is a revolutionary sexual abuse prevention training program that educates adults in the community to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. The program believes and teaches that child safety is an adult’s job. The 3-hour workshop integrates the simple principles of choice, consciousness, and personal power to promote an understanding of the nature and impact of child sexual abuse, and uses those principles to provide a context for empowered action. The curriculum is direct about holding each adult accountable and generous in providing powerful, specific support for personal change. (Children’s Place, Inc. & Child Advocacy Center of Aiken County) **Aiken Youth Empowerment, a program of Helping Hands, Inc., also offers Stewards of Children Darkness to Light training**

• Prime Time - works in collaboration with Aiken County Schools to provide an after-school program at numerous Aiken County elementary schools. This after-school program offers structure and fun for everyone! Activities include nutritious snacks; homework time; literacy, math & science games; arts and crafts; fitness activities; and outside play time. (The Family Y)

• Youth Development (through boxing) - provides physical fitness programs for area youth that promotes self-esteem and discipline. Also offers one-on-one mentoring to encourage youth not to drop out of school. (Aiken Boxing Youth Development Center)

• Social, Health & Life Skills Development - diverts area youth from teen pregnancy, substance abuse, crime and juvenile delinquency by fostering self-esteem, community commitment and life skills training. Activities encourage youth fellowship and responsibility by exposure to positive role models through spiritual, recreational, educational and cultural components. (Aiken Boxing Youth Development Center, Boys & Girls Club and Brothers & Sisters)

• Tutorial Services - focuses on improving study habits, homework assistance, goal setting and enhancing computer skills. (Aiken Boxing Youth Development Center, Boys & Girls Club and Brothers & Sisters)

• Youth Development through Boy Scouting - embraces the scouting mission “to serve others by helping instill values in young people and in other ways to prepare them to make ethical choices over their lifetime in achieving their potential.” Scouting uses traditional values to address immediate community needs through a volunteer delivery system. Brings together a broad range of the community’s youth and adults to create positive influences that foster positive behavior. Programs include: Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturing and Exploring. (Boy Scouts of America, Georgia-Carolina Council)

• Youth Development through Girl Scouting - The Girl Scout Leadership Experience empowers girls in grades K5-12 to build courage, confidence, and character and to take action as leaders to make the world a better place. Through age-appropriate activities under the mentorship of caring adult volunteers, girls discover their interests and talents, practice values-based decision making, and build lifelong skills for success as productive citizens and responsible stewards of personal and community resources. (Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands, Inc.)

• Boys & Girls Club - works in conjunction with the Department of Juvenile Justice, Aiken Public Safety and Aiken County Schools to inspire and enable all young people, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. (Salvation Army)

• Nurture Home - provides shelter housing for women and children who are homeless. Services include intensive case management, parenting classes, and independent living classes to enhance self-esteem, parenting ability, and overall self-sufficiency. (Mental Health America)

• Success by 6® - acts as a catalyst in the community to ensure that all children enter school ready to achieve their full potential. The Dolly Parton Imagination Library encourages children and families to read together. Born Learning Trails provide interactive activities to foster learning skills. (United Way of Aiken County, Inc.)

• Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) - ensures that service members, veterans, and their families have worldwide, around-the-clock access to timely and reliable humanitarian services. Emergency services, such as financial assistance, suicide prevention actions, emergency communications, and family follow-ups are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (American Red Cross Aiken Area Chapter)

• Mental Health Education and Advocacy - provides educational programs and referral services to alleviate stigma related to mental illness, offers suicide support group, access to confidential Mental Health screening on our website, and provides education to the community on suicide prevention, depression, and other mental health diagnoses. (Mental Health America)

• Congregate Dining Sites - Hot, nutritious meals are provided to senior adults (60+) in a group setting at meal locations throughout Aiken County. We also provide guest speakers, recreational, and health awareness activities to supply our

senior population with information, education, fellowship, and resources for other services to meet their needs. (Aiken Senior Life Services)

• Hot Delivered Meals - Dedicated volunteers deliver hot, nutritious meals to homebound senior adults Monday through Friday. We also deliver pre-packaged meal kits (dry goods) and frozen meals on a weekly or monthly basis to senior adults who live beyond our volunteers’ delivery area. (Aiken Senior Life Services)

• Aiken and North Augusta Family Y Camp - A weeklong traditional day camp for ages 5-12 from 7am-6pm. The Leaders in Training program is also available for 13-17 year olds that would like to attend camp and learn the necessary tools to become a counselor. Campers enjoy crafts, games, songs, arts, character development activities and field trips. The fun themes and wonderful staff at the Y will keep the kids engaged all summer long. (The Family Y)

PROMOTING HEALTH & HEALING/HEALTH• Real Talk for Youth - This research- and evidence-based

program allows the Aiken Youth Empowerment’s certified Community Educators to provide age-appropriate education and resources to prevent risk-taking behaviors and promote healthy decision-making in children and youth in our community. (Aiken Youth Empowerment, a program of Helping Hands, Inc.)

• Girls Circle Program - This research- and evidence-based program allows Aiken Youth Empowerment’s certified Community Educators to create a safe space for boys and girls to talk about risky behaviors, build on personal strengths and improve peer-to-peer relationships (Aiken Youth Empowerment, a program of Helping Hands, Inc.)

• Real Care Infant Simulators - This research- and evidence-based program allows Aiken Youth Empowerment’s certified Community Educators to lend our 20+ simulators to community youth. The simulators give male and female adolescents the most realistic infant care experience possible including experiencing the emotional, financial and social consequences of teen parenting and helps improve parent/child communication. They can be requested by any local middle or high school, church or community organization. (Aiken Youth Empowerment, a program of Helping Hands, Inc.)

• Teen Pregnancy Prevention programming: replicates evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention models with fidelity in all Aiken County Public Schools in coordination with the SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (Aiken Youth Empowerment, a program of Helping Hands)

• Emerging Adults program: educates young people, ages 19 to 23, on topics like where to get information about, and how to prevent pregnancies and/or STDs/HIV (Aiken Youth Empowerment, a program of Helping Hands)

• Medical Care - The Community Medical Clinic of Aiken County provides a medical home for low income and uninsured residents of Aiken County that have a diagnosed chronic health condition. Patients are provided medical office visits, medications and education classes free of charge. (Community Medical Clinic of Aiken County)

• Children’s Therapy Services - a therapeutic intervention with an interdisciplinary team approach providing individualized Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Speech Therapy treatments to meet the needs of children with developmental disabilities or acute debilitating injuries from birth to twelve years. These services dramatically improve a child’s functional independence, communication, school readiness, self-confidence, and developmental milestones. (Hitchcock Healthcare)

• Adult Therapy Services - provides individualized Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy outpatient services to persons over the age of 21 in need of financial assistance through our charitable care program. These services allow individuals to improve quality of life and recover as much independent function as possible from a potentially debilitating medical condition. (Hitchcock Healthcare)

• Welcome Baby - Provides support, educational resources, and basic infant necessities to every new baby and mother as well as provision of diapers to families in financial need. (Mental Health America)

• Medication Assistance Program - MAP helps low-income, uninsured or underinsured clients complete pharmaceutical applications to ensure they are able to obtain medication prescribed by their physicians. (Lower Savannah Council of Governments, MAP)

• Alley Cats – a bowling program for individuals with physical and/or intellectual disabilities from our community that meets weekly during the months of September-May at Northside Lanes in North Augusta and Strikehouse Bowl in Aiken. Bowling provides the benefit of access to regular physical activity to promote good health, improve self-confidence, and increase self-esteem while learning new skills. (The RECing Crew)

• Cruisers - a monthly social event for individuals with physical and/or intellectual disabilities that provides an opportunity for them to enjoy our community while socializing with friends and peers. Activities include but are not limited to the Movies, Musicals, or Plays, Pizza Parties, playing Bingo, Holiday celebrations, attending Green Jacket Baseball, and the Winter Wonderland Ball. These activities promote increased self-esteem, foster independence, and encourage social interaction while giving them the opportunity to be part of our community. (The RECing Crew)

• Intellectual Disabilities Support - provides children’s services and targets children and youth with intellectual disabilities, age 0-21, their parents and families. The program provides rehabilitation support, integrates children into community programs and provides summer services. (Tri-Development Center)

• Disabilities Prevention Services - an effort to avoid lifelong disabilities and deaths, this service includes presentations and collaboration with other agencies. This includes, but not limited to: holding car seat clinics, developing designated driver programs, offering senior driving programs and

conducting alcohol and drug avoidance programs. It also includes increasing the public’s commitment to and knowledge about reducing the incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome, mercury poisoning, lead poisoning, neural tube defects and other disabilities. (Tri-Development Center)

• Prevention Education Programs - A community based prevention education and awareness program that aims to create safe and healthy communities by reducing problems associated with alcohol and other drugs through education and training. Services include: health promotion events to include informational display booths at community health fairs; Red Ribbon Week activities at elementary and middle schools; Using mass media campaigns to increase community awareness on the dangers of substance abuse; Rx for prevention-a community based outreach to prevent prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) drug abuse and misuse; Prescription Drug Take-Back Day: takes place twice a year in April and October; and providing responsible beverage service training for establishments that sell alcohol and tobacco products. (Aiken Center for Alcohol and Drug Services)

• LifeSkills Training - The LifeSkills Training Program is a research-validated substance abuse prevention program proven to reduce the risks of alcohol, tobacco, drug abuse, and violence by targeting the major social and psychological factors that promote the initiation of substance use and other risky behaviors. This comprehensive and exciting program provides adolescents and young teens with the confidence and skills necessary to successfully handle challenging situations. In addition to the Prevention Specialist teaching about the dangers of drug abuse, LifeSkills Training promotes healthy alternatives to risky behavior through class activities. (Aiken Center for Alcohol and Drug Services)

• Too Good for Drugs - Too Good for Drugs is a school-based prevention program designed to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors related to alcohol, tobacco and other drug use among 4th grade students. Students learn and practice setting reachable goals, making responsible decisions, and refuse peer pressure and influence through independent, paired, and cooperative learning activities and games. (Aiken Center for Alcohol and Drug Services)

• Prevention Education & Health Promotion - Aiken Center Prevention Services staff are available to conduct presentations on a host of topics related to alcohol, tobacco and other drug use for all ages and audiences. We develop and deliver trainings on specific topics. Our most popular topics include: Parenting for Prevention; Alcoholism & Addiction; Prescription Drug Abuse; Tobacco Prevention & Education workshops. These trainings are offered to the community, in schools, neighborhoods, businesses, churches, and other community groups. (Aiken Center for Alcohol and Drug Service).

• Cancer Patient Assistance - provides individual consultations, referrals and web-site assistance for cancer patients as well as a monthly support group. Also provides financial assistance to qualified patients to help pay for cancer-related medications and transportation. (CanHope)

• Cancer Prevention and Screening - provides educational programs, materials and information to promote the early detection and prevention of cancer and to screen for certain common cancers (CanHope)

PROVIDING ASSISTANCE IN CRISIS• Domestic Violence, Shelter and Non-Shelter - comprised

of (a) non-shelter counseling and legal advocacy and (b) emergency shelter service. (Cumbee Center)

• Sexual Assault - serves as a rape crisis center targeted for adult (over 16) victims of sexual assault, and child victims of sexual assault. (Cumbee Center)

• Children’s Emergency Shelter/Foster Care Group Home - provides emergency shelter for abused, abandoned and/or neglected children from the ages of 0 – 21 years old placed with the agency through the South Carolina Department of Social Services or DJJ. Children receive shelter, meals and snacks, clothing, first aid and medical care, educational and tutorial assistance, pre-vocational/vocational guidance, therapy and counseling. (Helping Hands, Inc.)

• HELP LINE 2-1-1 - provides 24-hour referrals, information, and crisis intervention for anyone in Aiken County. Dial 2-1-1 from any land line or cell phone for the names and phone numbers of agencies that may be able to help with basic needs like food, clothing, or rent. Search the current database or download the Human Service Directory at www.aikenhelpline211.org. (Aiken County HELP LINE 2-1-1)

• Prescription Assistance - provides emergency assistance to qualified persons in need of medications, dental extractions or eyeglasses. (ACTS)

• Utility Assistance - provides assistance with utility bills to qualified persons. Space heaters and box fans are also available. Appointment is required for utility assistance. (ACTS, CMONA, Salvation Army)

• Client Assistance - provides emergency food, clothing, payment of utilities and medicine to qualified applicants. (Salvation Army, CMONA, ACTS)

• Emergency Services - provides emergency medical services to all who call. Assists Aiken County EMS with calls and offers “stand by” service when all of the county ambulances are on calls. (Jackson First Alert)

• Disaster Relief Services - provides immediate assistance to individuals and families affected by house fires or other disasters. Red Cross assistance includes shelter, emotional counseling and financial assistance for food, clothing and medications that may have been lost in a disaster. Services are free and are provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. (American Red Cross Aiken Area Chapter, Salvation Army)

• Nutrition Assistance - provides food assistance to those in crisis via a network of 29 partner agencies in Aiken County. Serving Aiken County and 10 surrounding counties, the mission is to supply high quality food and other grocery products to families and individuals in need. Also distributes food for the weekend to at-risk children through the

BackPack program and monthly food assistance to seniors through the Senior Food Box program. (Golden Harvest Food Bank)

• Emergency Shelter - provides an emergency shelter designed to assist homeless persons. (Salvation Army)

• Child Advocacy - minimizes trauma to child victims of maltreatment and sexual abuse and promotes a collaborative agency approach to better meet the needs of child victims. This is accomplished through the provision of forensic interviews, medical examinations, Multidisciplinary Team Staffings (MDT), counseling, and prevention efforts. (Child Advocacy Center of Aiken County)

ENSURING SELF-SUFFICIENCY/INCOME• Vocational Rehabilitation - enables eligible South

Carolinians with disabilities to prepare for, achieve and maintain competitive employment. (South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation)

• Vocational, Developmental and Social Services for Adults with Disabilities - focuses on individuals’ abilities and not their disabilities. A variety of work and other habilitative options are provided permitting consumers with intellectual disabilities, autism, head injuries, spinal cord injuries and related disabilities to develop and utilize their skills. Mobile work crews, enclaves, day activity center, a bakery and supported competitive employment are among the vocational choices available. Individuals from 31 TDC residential facilities as well as those living with their families participate. (Tri-Development Center)

• Project VISION - acts as a uniting force to address the on-going need for essential home repairs for low-income homeowners in Aiken County who are disabled or elderly. Project VISION collaborates with city and county governments, area churches, corporations, health and human service agencies, community leaders and volunteers to improve sub-standard housing conditions for low-income owner occupants. United Way partner agencies also benefit every spring via the Day of Caring. (United Way of Aiken County, Inc.)

• Transportation Services - The Pony Express provides safe, ADA-compliant transportation to medical appointments, shopping, congregate meal sites, and other daily transit needs for disabled and/or elderly citizens in our community. In addition, public transit serving the general public in rural areas is available at no cost. We have three routes that cover Wagener, Salley, North Aiken, New Ellenton, Beech Island, Jackson, and North Augusta, which operate Monday through Saturday. (Aiken Senior Life Services)

• Transportation Services - Best Friend Express Fixed Route Transit System and Dial-A-Ride ADA Paratransit transportation service serves the general public and persons with disabilities within the urbanized portion of Aiken County five days week (Lower Savannah Council of Governments)

• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) - provides free income tax preparation and filing services for taxpayers with low to moderate income. ( H. Odell Weeks Activity Center VITA/ ACTS)

2016 PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS:ACTS ............................................................................. (803) 642-5919 Aiken Senior Life Services ........................................ (803) 648-5447Aiken Boxing Youth Development Center .......... (803) 645-6338Aiken Center for Alcohol and Drug Services ..... (803) 649-1900Aiken Youth Empowerment (a program of Helping Hands, Inc.) ................. (803) 648-3456Aiken Rescue Inc ........................................................ (803) 649-49501Aiken Vocational Rehabilitation Center ................ (803) 641-7630Alston Wilkes Society................................................ (803) 799-2490American Heart Association ................................... (803)-341-9735American Red Cross Aiken Area Chapter ........... (803) 641-4152Boy Scouts of America, Georgia-Carolina Council .... (706) 733-5277CanHope ...................................................................... .(803) 649-5433Brothers & Sisters of Aiken County ...................... (803) 641-3888Child Advocacy Center of Aiken County............. (803) 644-5100Children’s Place, Inc ................................................... (803) 641-4144Community Medical Clinic of Aiken County ...... (803) 226-0630Community Ministry of North Augusta ............... (803) 279-5771Cumbee Center to Assist Abused Persons ......... (803) 649-0480Family Y Prime Time................................................... (803) 349-8080Family Y Summer Camp Aiken ................................ (803) 349-8080Family Y Summer Camp North Augusta .............. (803) 278-0882Florence Crittenton Programs ............................... (843) 722-7526Girl Scouts of South Carolina- Mountains to Midlands, Inc. .............................. (800) 849-4475Golden Harvest Food Bank ..................................... (803) 648-0752HELP LINE 2-1-1 (Information & Referrals) ....... (877) 648-9900Helping Hands, Inc ...................................................... (803) 648-3456Hitchcock Healthcare ............................................... (803) 648-8344Jackson First Alert ...................................................... (803) 471-2637Lower Savannah Council of Governments .......... (803) 649-7981Mental Health America ............................................. (803) 641-4164Salvation Army Shelter .............................................. (803) 641-4149Salvation Army Social Services ................................ (803) 641-4141South Carolina Autism Society ............................... (803) 750-6988 or (800) 438-4790The RECing Crew ...................................................... (803) 426-1284Tri-Development Center.......................................... (803) 642-8800United Services Organization (USO).................... (202) 610-5700United Way of Aiken County, Inc ........................... (803) 648-8331*United Way of America ........................................... (703) 836-7112* United Way Association of South Carolina ...... (803) 252-9101 *1% goes to these support organizations

INITIATIVESProject VISION ............................................................ (803) 648-8331 x 17Success by 6® .............................................................. (803) 648-8331