Staff Report
Published Feb. 19, 2010

Trident United Way surpassed its 2009 fundraising goal with more than $10 million in pledges, an increase of $200,000 over 2008.

Last year was the 12th consecutive record campaign for the Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester county region, which made the local United Way one of the fastest growing in the nation.

“I am positively blown away by the generosity of our community,” said David Schools, CEO of Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co. and chair of the 2009 fundraising campaign. “I think that many of us saw increasing need, particularly among hard-working people who had previously been employed, and gave more than in the past out of gratitude for our own good fortune.”

“The more the need, the more our donors are looking to make charitable investments that deliver high returns,” said Christopher Kerrigan, president and CEO of Trident United Way. “Our focus on education, income and health has really reverberated with contributors.”

Trident United Way works to create changes in the areas of education, income and health. The organization’s Links to Success initiative, now in 10 low-performing schools across our three counties, brings together multiple partners to deliver academic and non-academic support for children. Several schools have reported marked improvements in attendance, behavior, grades and test scores since the initiative began.

The largest overall campaign was at Santee Cooper. Under the leadership of CEO Lonnie Carter, employee contributions and corporate gift added up to $560,000.

The largest employee contributions came from Roper St. Francis Healthcare, led by CEO David Dunlap, who is also the board chair for Trident United Way. Employees at RSFH pledged $478,000. Employees of The InterTech Group Inc. pledged the most per person, at more than $4,000. InterTech CEO Anita Zucker has been one of Trident United Way’s most generous supporters for years.