NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – The 2022 Trident United Way school supply drive received the support of 19 company drives and 397 donors, securing a total of over $58,000 worth of backpacks and school supplies which will equip 2,700 elementary students across seven Tri-County Title 1 schools for the upcoming school year.
“Because of the leadership of Young Leaders United, as well as our generous donors and supporting companies, we were able to support AC Corcoran Elementary, Clay Hill Elementary, Harleyville Elementary, JK Gourdin Elementary, Pepperhill Elementary, St. Stephen Elementary and Williams Memorial Elementary,” said Young Leaders United Chair, Lauren Nilan.
On August 9th and 10th, over 80 volunteers gathered to pack 2,600 backpacks with school supplies, including paper, pencils, erasers, folders, glue sticks, crayons, colored pencils and scissors. On August 11th the final 100 backpacks were packed at Firefly Distillery during the Young Leader’s United Socialize & Serve event. On August 12th UPS personnel loaded the backpacks into their trucks and delivered them to principals and staff at the schools for distribution to the students.
“Wow, wow, wow is what I would say to those who helped to make this dream a reality for my students,” said St. Stephen Elementary Principal Elaine Graham. “What a powerful way to say you really care. We are most fortunate to have the generosity of this community. You are helping to set up each of my students for a very successful year!”
Since 2011, Trident United Way has been devoted to carving out a special place for the young leaders in this community through Young Leaders United (YLU). YLU engages, empowers and unites young philanthropists in the Tri-County who want to want to improve health, financial stability and education in our region. YLU provides members opportunities for leadership development through engagement opportunities in community service, professional development and networking.
Trident United Way and Young Leaders United would like to thank UPS for donating temporary storage space for the backpacks and supplies and making the deliveries to area schools. Additionally, they would like to thank the following companies who promoted the drive with their employees and teams:
• AstenJohnson
• BoomTown!
• Carolina One Real Estate Agents
• Elliott Davis
• FORVIS
• Ground Swell Capital
• Ingevity
• Johnson & Johnson
• Life Cycle Engineering
• Lowcountry Hurricane Protection & Shutters
• LS3P
• MUSC
• SC State Ports Authority
• Southern First Bank
• The Bank of South Carolina
• Thomas & Hutton
• Trident United Way
• Truist
• We Are Sharing Hope SC
B-roll from the packing events and backpack deliveries can be found here. The speaker at the end of this video is Principal Johnathon Wideman of A.C. Corcoran Elementary School.
Images are available here.
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About Trident United Way - Celebrating more than 77 years of service, Trident United Way is a catalyst for measurable community transformation in education, financial stability and health. In 2021 The Chronicle of Philanthropy once again voted United Way as America’s favorite charity.