9 листопада 2026 р.
Union, S.C. (November 9, 2026) – Union Uplifted announced the Mrs. Barbara H. Rippy Family Success Academy on Thursday, November 5, at Main Street Junction. Mrs. Rippy made a $100,000 inaugural gift to launch the Academy, which will bring kindergarten-readiness support directly into neighborhoods across Union County. Parents and caregivers will gain the skills, demonstrations and tools they need to help their children start school ready to learn. Mrs. Rippy’s gift reflects decades of generosity and service to Union County. Her investment gives the Academy the start it needs to reach families in every corner of the county. The Academy responds to a pressing need. In 2025, only 25 percent of Union County students were ready to begin kindergarten. Research shows that 90 percent of a child's brain develops by age five, making the years before school a critical window for building the foundation of lifelong learning. “When three out of four of our children arrive at kindergarten not yet ready, that is not a challenge any one school, agency or family can solve alone,” said Joey Haney, Executive Director of Union Uplifted. “It takes a whole-community approach, and that is exactly what this Academy represents.” The Family Success Academy is the newest initiative under BEACON (Bringing Early Access, Care and Outreach to Neighborhoods). BEACON grew out of Union Uplifted’s community planning process, and Union Uplifted’s Early Care and Learning Collaborative Action Network led the work that shaped BEACON and its focus on meeting families where they are. Rather than asking families to come to a central location, the Academy will travel to them. Sessions will be held in familiar community spaces, including churches, town halls, fire departments and other gathering places across the communities of Buffalo, Carlisle, Jonesville, Lockhart and Union. “Today we have the honor of celebrating a new strategy to support our communities and our kids across the county,” Haney said. “Every time we open a session of the Mrs. Barbara H. Rippy Family Success Academy, we will be highlighting a legacy of service. Thank you, Mrs. Rippy, for loving our community and for supporting Union Uplifted.”
Новини
9 листопада 2026 р.
Union, S.C. (November 9, 2026) – Union Uplifted announced the Mrs. Barbara H. Rippy Family Success Academy on Thursday, November 5, at Main Street Junction. Mrs. Rippy made a $100,000 inaugural gift to launch the Academy, which will bring kindergarten-readiness support directly into neighborhoods across Union County. Parents and caregivers will gain the skills, demonstrations and tools they need to help their children start school ready to learn. Mrs. Rippy’s gift reflects decades of generosity and service to Union County. Her investment gives the Academy the start it needs to reach families in every corner of the county. The Academy responds to a pressing need. In 2025, only 25 percent of Union County students were ready to begin kindergarten. Research shows that 90 percent of a child's brain develops by age five, making the years before school a critical window for building the foundation of lifelong learning. “When three out of four of our children arrive at kindergarten not yet ready, that is not a challenge any one school, agency or family can solve alone,” said Joey Haney, Executive Director of Union Uplifted. “It takes a whole-community approach, and that is exactly what this Academy represents.” The Family Success Academy is the newest initiative under BEACON (Bringing Early Access, Care and Outreach to Neighborhoods). BEACON grew out of Union Uplifted’s community planning process, and Union Uplifted’s Early Care and Learning Collaborative Action Network led the work that shaped BEACON and its focus on meeting families where they are. Rather than asking families to come to a central location, the Academy will travel to them. Sessions will be held in familiar community spaces, including churches, town halls, fire departments and other gathering places across the communities of Buffalo, Carlisle, Jonesville, Lockhart and Union. “Today we have the honor of celebrating a new strategy to support our communities and our kids across the county,” Haney said. “Every time we open a session of the Mrs. Barbara H. Rippy Family Success Academy, we will be highlighting a legacy of service. Thank you, Mrs. Rippy, for loving our community and for supporting Union Uplifted.”
14 жовтня 2026 р.
A local mother of five wanted one thing for her kids: a stable home. In 2025, facing the loss of that home, she came to United Way of the Piedmont. She worked with one of our Community Resource Coordinators to find housing, then a job. With help from direct assistance, she bought a car she could afford. In July 2026, the mother picked up her keys. Stories like this one are at the heart of our new 2025-2026 Impact Update. We're celebrating 90 years in this community with a sharper focus than we have ever had. Read the full 2025-2026 Impact Update below.
2 жовтня 2026 р.
Chunsta Miller is United Way of the Piedmont's 2025-2026 Morgan Award winner.
21 вересня 2026 р.
Picture a parent in the school supply aisle in early August, list in hand, doing the math before picking up a single item. Pencils, two dollars. Folders, three for a dollar. A three-ring binder, four dollars. A backpack built to survive a school year, twenty-five dollars or more. The list is longer than the budget. Something has to come off it. This parent is probably working. Full time, maybe two jobs. Across Cherokee, Spartanburg, and Union counties, more than four in ten households cannot cover the cost of basics. Many of them are working full-time. There is a number behind that parent's math, and it is bigger than a school supply list. In South Carolina, a family of four needs $76,908 a year to cover housing, food, childcare, transportation, and health care. The federal poverty level for that same family is $31,200. Here is what it takes locally: Cherokee County - $74,484 Spartanburg - $79,080 Union - $70,548. That number climbs faster than paychecks do. The ALICE Essentials Index tracks the cost of the basics: rent, groceries, gas, childcare, health care. In South Carolina, those costs rose 6.3% a year between 2021 and 2024. From 2007 to 2019, the annual increase was 2.9%. Essentials have been outpacing wages here for most of two decades.
14 серпня 2026 р.
This month, thousands of students across Cherokee, Spartanburg, and Union counties headed back to the classroom. Many of these students’ families in our region work hard and still struggle to cover the basics — let alone school supplies. Over four in ten households in Cherokee, Spartanburg, and Union counties earn their paychecks and still cannot cover basic expenses. In response to this need, United Way of the Piedmont rallied the community through its annual United for Students School Supply Drive, ensuring that students across our tri-county footprint started the school year with the tools they need to succeed. Thanks to the generosity of corporate partners and community members, over 1,800 students received essential school supplies this year, backed by almost $65,000 in donated supplies. That is real support landing in real classrooms across our region. Here is how it broke down by county: Cherokee County: 3 corporate partners contributed over $5,200 in supplies to support 131 students. Spartanburg County: 32 corporate partners contributed over $51,000 in supplies, supporting 1,543 students and their classrooms. Union County: 5 corporate partners contributed over $8,300 in supplies, benefitting 201 students and their classrooms. The need in our community continues to grow, and there is room for even more businesses, organizations, and individuals to join this effort next year. Every new partner means more students starting the school year fully equipped. United Way’s School Supply Drive mobilizes local businesses, organizations, and individuals to collect and donate supplies like notebooks, pens, pencils, and backpacks. The goal is simple: to relieve the financial burden on families and help every child thrive academically. "Every backpack packed and every notebook donated makes a real difference for a student on the first day of school," said Marissa Human, Director of Engagement & Events. "Our corporate and community partners see this need firsthand in their own communities, and they show up for it year after year. That kind of local commitment is what makes this drive work." United Way is deeply grateful to the many local companies, volunteers, and community members who stepped up to make this year’s drive a success. Want to be part of next year's drive? Contact Marissa Human at mhuman@uwpiedmont.org .
