United Way of the Midlands (UWM), established in 1925, proudly serves the central South Carolina counties of Calhoun, Fairfield, Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg, and Richland. Our mission is to address critical community challenges by connecting people and resources to improve lives and strengthen the region.
UWM takes a comprehensive, data-driven approach to tackling some of society’s most pressing issues—improving economic sufficiency, increasing childhood literacy, and expanding access to healthcare. As a large, well-established organization, we have the capacity to combine resources, conduct targeted research, and collaborate strategically to maximize our impact.
We invest in community-based programs and directly operate key initiatives, such as the Midlands Reading Consortium, a K–2 reading and STEM program that helps build early learning skills, and WellPartners, our free dental and eye clinics that serve uninsured and underinsured individuals.
Through these efforts and our broad network of partnerships, UWM reaches more than 40,000 people each year.
In 2025, we updated our previous Community Assessment to share our progress over the past few years and take a look ahead at how the needs in our community have evolved.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, community needs have shifted dramatically, and our work is more vital than ever. One of the most telling indicators of growing economic strain is the sharp increase in the income required to support a family without relying on public or private assistance. According to the Self-Sufficiency Standard published by the United Way Association of South Carolina, the cost of basic necessities—such as housing, childcare, food, healthcare, and transportation—has soared since 2020 due to the dramatic rise in housing and basic needs costs such as groceries.
For example, a family consisting of one adult, one infant, and one school-aged child now needs an annual income of $63,461 to meet basic needs in our six-county region—a 52% increase since 2020. Meanwhile, per capita income in the Midlands has only grown by 26%, and the area’s average income of $57,191 still falls short of the self-sufficiency threshold.
This growing gap underscores the urgent need for robust community support systems. At United Way of the Midlands, we are committed to closing that gap—not just by meeting immediate needs, but by creating sustainable pathways to stability and independence. As we look ahead, our focus remains on building a stronger Midlands where every individual can thrive.
The 2021 assessment process involved an in-depth analysis of data across UWM’s focus areas, supplemented by 40 community conversations with more than 400 participants. The result was a thorough community assessment that identified four strategic focus areas:
Over the past three years, UWM has worked diligently and collaboratively to advance this vision through a targeted community investment plan.
Key Initiatives Include:
- Make Housing Available for Everyone
- Connect People to Good Paying Jobs with Benefits
- Improve Supports for Families and Youth
- Improve Access to Care