Hartsville United Way -- A community builder

When it comes to building community, one of the interesting strategies is to find a way to get people within the community to commit physically to the improvement of the community -- voluntarily. The United Way provides this opportunity.

Today, the Hartsville Chamber of Commerce held an "All Member Breakfast" event at Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center to hear from the T. C. Sawyer, executive director of the Hartsville United Way. The update on the role of the United Way in this community was timely. Mr. Sawyer told the group the national United Way is hoping that local United Ways will help focus communities on the major problems identified within the community. He told the group that in Hartsville the three major areas his Board has identified include Education, Health and jobs.

In the past we have known the United Way as a community chest of resources but the strategies of the United Way are evolving around the country as these groups identify themselves more as those organizations that can bring disparate groups from the community together to focus on solutions. The funds they provide come from contributions of people in the community who like the idea of having one organization looking at the community and determining where donor dollars can most effectively be spent.

Expect to be hearing more from the Hartsville United Way!