United Way of the Lowcountry Women United Celebrates Outstanding Women in our Community through Power of the Purse

If there’s a local festival, community project, give back event, you name it, in the Beaufort/ Port Royal area, you’re likely to find Charlotte Gonzalez there rolling up her sleeves and volunteering in some capacity.
Charlotte is an active member of the Rotary Club of the Lowcountry and has been since 2010. She served as the club’s president for two years and currently serves as the Assistant Governor for Area 5, which encompasses the Rotary clubs in Beaufort and Ridgeland’s Jasper County Rotary Club. She lives out the Rotary ideal of “Service above Self”, helping with Adopt-A-Highway, a variety of club fundraisers, as well as writing grants for the Simplified Grant Program for Habitat for Humanity Training Materials and the Anti-Bully Program for all of Beaufort County Schools. “I truly believe there is no better feeling than helping others, says Charlotte. She even hosted a foreign exchange student from Belgium for eight months.

In addition to her Rotary service, Charlotte is a graduate of Leadership Beaufort and has volunteered her time at a number of local organizations throughout the years including Lowcountry Estuarium, Mainstreet Beaufort, Friends of Hunting Island, Lowcountry Habitat for Humanity, HELP of Beaufort, United Way of the Lowcountry, Battery Creek Aviation Advisory Council, Beaufort Water Festival and the Leadership Beaufort Alumni Association. “While growing up, I always liked volunteering with events, fundraising or organizations that make a difference in the community,” says Charlotte. “That is something, to this day, I continue to do in any way I can. Attending Leadership Beaufort in 2004/2005 really opened my eyes to all that I could be involved in within the Beaufort-Port Royal area.”
Although Charlotte prefers to work behind the scenes, her hard and dedication in our community has not gone unnoticed. Charlotte was recently nominated and named Women United’s 2019 Woman of the Year. “I’m truly, truly humbled,” says Charlotte. “I do what I do because I love this community. I really do.”
This prestigious award was created by United Way of the Lowcountry’s Women United to honor the outstanding women of Beaufort and Jasper Counties who have made a powerful impact on the local community through their volunteer efforts and who have served as a role model for inspiration and achievement of other women.
Charlotte along with Laurie Brown, Missy Santorum, and Margie Tomczak were named finalists for the Woman of the Year Award. They were each honored during Women United’s Power of the Purse event in March at the Dataw Island Clubhouse.
Charlotte does all of this while serving as the Operations Manager at Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS). She is also a proud mother, grandmother and great grandmother.