In case you missed it — United Way of Kershaw County announced the expansion of new transitional housing developments through its New Day program. The initiative connects members to temporary housing and provides access to education, skills training + mental health resources.

DYK — United Way is a world-wide nonprofit that works to lend a helping hand to citizens by mobilizing local community involvement? Luckily for us, we have a few United Way branches in our backyard that strive to identify missing resources within our diverse communities and then connect citizens to services that improve quality of life.

The COLAtoday team sat down with Sara Fawcett, the President and CEO of United Way of the Midlands, and she shared the organization's 2021 Community Assessment with us. It outlines eight months of gathered data across six counties. Through the assessment, United Way identified eight steps we can take to fill in resource gaps within our communities.

Two of the actionable steps are:

Creating a more unified vision for growth and economic development.
Supporting adults in upskilling and obtaining better paying jobs.

So, to play a part in connecting families to economic stability, we’re sharing three available jobs that don’t require a college degree:

Assistant Guest Service Manager | The Fresh Market is looking to hire a leading example of hospitality for team members. You will educate guests on products + services to provide complete meal solutions.
Sales Consultant | CarMax requires someone to help customers in finding the right vehicle, guide visitors through the car buying process, and compile relevant records.
Traffic Control Flagger | Area Wide Protective needs someone to set up work zones with proper equipment, communicate to keep everyone safe, control traffic flow, and provide outstanding service to customers.

If you’re reading this and do have a job in the Soda City, maybe your company can collaborate with United Way to kickstart a Workplace Campaign. We encourage you to read through the full assessment + identify ways you can take action to improve the quality of life for all communities within the Midlands.