United Way of the Lowcountry

Offering a Hand Up, Not Just a Handout

story by JEANNE REYNOLDS           photo by JENNY PHILLIPS

Shawn Blackburn clearly remembers the Christmas twelve years ago, not long after he and his now-wife, Tara, decided to unite their families. Together, the couple had four children, ages 11, 7, 4, and 2. Shawn had just launched a new window-cleaning business, and money was pretty tight.

“Christmas has always been a huge deal to me,” Blackburn says. “We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, but my parents always made sure Christmas was special.”

The Blackburns wished their fledgling family could have that same experience but couldn’t afford any extra expenses that year. That’s when they turned to United Way of the Lowcountry and Operation Holiday Heroes. The program — a partnership between United Way, Toys for Tots, and other area nonprofits — makes it possible for thousands of children in Beaufort and Jasper counties to wake up on Christmas morning to find gifts under the tree.

“The kids were excited to see the number of gifts under the tree,” Blackburn recalls. “It was really nice to know they’d have the kind of Christmas we did growing up.”

The family benefitted from the program the following year too. But fast-forward a dozen years. The Blackburns are now proud owners of Waterfront Window Cleaning, a business serving the Beaufort area from Okatie to Fripp Island. The business is doing well enough that it’s now able to return the favor to United Way as a sponsor for its annual Women United Power of the Purse fundraiser.

“It’s easy to help them out because we appreciated their help when we needed it,” Blackburn says. “I’m very thankful to be in a position to help.”

HELPING NEIGHBORS THRIVE THROUGH SELF-SUFFICIENCY OPPORTUNITIES
The Blackburns’ success story is precisely the type of outcome United Way hopes to achieve through its new focus on self-sufficiency.

“Everyone wants to stand on their own two feet,” says Dale Douthat, United Way’s president and CEO. “We completed a community needs assessment last year that showed we need to do a better job helping people become self-sufficient — to get to the point where they don’t need assistance with expenses, such as rent and utilities. That means helping people prepare to make a living with education, job training, child care, and teaching them how to manage money.”

United Way will always support programs to meet basic needs, such as food, housing, and health, Douthat is quick to assure, because those things are the foundation on which success can be built. However, self-sufficiency moves beyond the basics to focus on childhood and youth success through education and economic mobility for adults.

Statistics show the scope of the challenge. For example, the federal poverty guideline for a family of four is $30,000. Yet a study done for United Way of South Carolina shows that same family of four might need to earn $70,000 to make ends meet in Beaufort County.

“This is an expensive community to live in,” Douthat says. “Of the ten most common jobs in South Carolina, only one — nursing — pays enough to live on in Beaufort without some form of assistance.”
Changing that dynamic starts at birth, Douthat says, citing research that shows 80% of a child’s brain development happens by age 3, and 90% by age 5. “According to the South Carolina Kindergartner Readiness Assessment, only 33% of children in Beaufort County and just 10% in Jasper County are ready to enter kindergarten.”

In addition to early childhood development and education, Douthat points to affordable housing as a critical need in this community. “If a person or family doesn’t have a roof over their heads, they can’t do much of anything else.”

Douthat admits he gets frustrated with the level of need he sees, but he takes a long view of the solutions. “Self-sufficiency isn’t an easy fix. It may take a generation or more to see a difference,” he says.
As daunting as that timeline might seem, it’s not unusual for significant change to succeed, Douthat says, drawing an analogy with seat belt use in cars. “Growing up, nobody thought about wearing seat belts. My first car didn’t even have them. Now, we won’t even start the car unless everyone is buckled up.”

TAPPING INTO A STRONG SUPPORT NETWORK
United Way isn’t tackling the challenge alone. Corporate partners such as Kinghorn Insurance Agency of Beaufort have a long history of strong support for United Way, its mission, and its initiatives.

“It’s wonderful the impact United Way has on our community,” says Jay Taylor, a partner at Kinghorn — celebrating its 125th anniversary this year — and a dedicated member of several neighborhood and small-business fundraising committees over the years. “We’ve always been an ‘early adopter’ of the annual campaign with very strong, usually 100% employee participation. We invite United Way agencies into our office to talk with employees about what they do, and their stories are very compelling. It’s an easy sell at that point.”

“These agencies have an incredible impact,” Taylor adds. “They elevate individuals by helping them get educated and live a better life. The new focus on self-sufficiency is very important because it creates a sense of pride and ownership in the community.”

Working collaboratively with other agencies and strong support from the business community will move the needle, Douthat says — but it’s not going to happen fast.

“There are lots of organizations addressing some of the problems in various ways, but few are working together to solve the same problem. It takes us all working together to do that. The strength of United Way is leading the effort to bring organizations together and work collaboratively to achieve our goals.”

FINDING THE RIGHT FIT
In addition to United Way’s goals for the community, Douthat says that he has two personal goals: helping every nonprofit organization be better than it is now and helping every member of our community find the opportunity right for them.

Douthat himself seems to have found the ideal opportunity for his expertise and passion. Armed with a bachelor of fine arts degree from Murray State University, he first embarked on a career in graphic arts and advertising. But about 15 years later, a friend convinced him to make a leap into the nonprofit world as director of the new Restore program at Habitat for Humanity in Louisville, Kentucky. At first, he declined, but his friend was persistent, saying he was the perfect person for the job.

“I sold my Mercedes for a Jeep and downsized my home,” he recalls. “I planned to stay two years and ended up staying 14. I absolutely loved it. The community service aspect clicked with me.”

Douthat was long past his “expiration date” at Restore, but it took a series of difficult personal events in late 2018 to bring him and his wife, Dawn, to Beaufort. When one of the couple’s beloved dogs died shortly before Christmas, Douthat said to Dawn, “We’re going to the beach.” Within 45 minutes, they had packed their bags and their dog, Emma, into their truck and headed for the East Coast, where the weather looked better. A few hours before they reached the coast, Dawn began looking for dog-friendly accommodations. The Beaufort Inn returned their phone call, they landed in Beaufort, and fell in love with it.

As luck would have it, during that visit Douthat read a local article about the head of United Way leaving the post. He contacted the board chair, applied for the job, and moved here five months later. He’s been at the helm of United Way for four and a half years now.

“I love the job, the community, and the agencies we work with,” Douthat says. “Volunteering here is huge. It’s surprising how many of our supporters are transplants from other areas and how engaged they are in this community. I applaud them for that. We’re blessed to live in a community where so many people volunteer and give of their resources.”

“I’m so happy here. We’re helping people over the rough spots. It’s important to know someone cares.”
The Blackburn family experienced that caring firsthand — and it’s made a lifelong difference to their family.

“I truly believe in a hand up rather than a handout,” Blackburn says. “I’m not going to give up.”
Anyone who’d like to invest in our community through United Way of the Lowcountry’s 2023 Annual Campaign can visit www.uwlowcountry.org/donate.

United Way of the Lowcountry funded 35 programs, supporting 19 partner agencies in Beaufort and Jasper counties in 2022
• AGAPE Family Life Center, Inc.
• Beaufort-Jasper YMCA of the Lowcountry
• Boys and Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry
• Born to Read
• Child Abuse Prevention Association
• Coastal Carolina Council Boy Scout Association
• Consumer Credit Counseling Services
• Family Promise of Beaufort County
• Good Neighbor Medical Clinic
• HELP of Beaufort
• Hopeful Horizons
• Jasper County Council on Aging
• Lowcountry Legal Volunteers
• Meals-on-Wheels, Bluffton/Hilton Head
• Jasper County Disabilities and Special Needs
• Ronald McDonald House Charities
• Second Helpings
• The Children’s Center
• The Deep Well Project