So many individuals, families and neighborhoods benefit from your
generous support of United Way. Here are just a few examples of how
lives are being changed every day when you choose to LIVE UNITED.
From jail to G.E.D. and beyond: Mandy makes a better life
When Mandy Hollenback dropped out of school at 16 years old, she was falling into a familiar cycle. No one else in her immediate family had gotten a high school diploma, and at the time, leaving school seemed like the best way to escape a difficult home life.
As it turned out, things only grew more difficult for Mandy. Many of the people around her were involved with drugs, and before long, so was she. Mandy became a single mother at age 21, but drugs continued to be a dominating influence on her life.
“They consumed my life,” she said. “I couldn’t see a way out.”
Eventually, she was arrested on felony drug charges and spent 11 days in jail. While sitting in her cell one day, she felt something kick inside her. She was tested and discovered that she was five months pregnant with her second child.
Mandy was ready to change her life, for herself and her babies.
Because the arrest was her first offense, she was placed in the Pre-Trial Intervention Program. The PTI Program required her to go back to school, but she had no reliable childcare, no transportation of her own, worked an unpredictable schedule, and couldn’t afford to pay for childcare. Mandy’s PTI counselor suggested she enroll in the United Way-funded G.E.D. program at United Ministries.
Within weeks, she had taken and passed the G.E.D. exam and was working with United Ministries’ guidance counselor on enrolling in college at Greenville Tech – the first person in her family to ever do so. Her relationship with the guidance counselor would end up being a lifeline as she continued to work through multiple barriers. Most importantly, she says, because of the nurturing attention the program staff gave her, she came to believe she was someone important and she could actually do something meaningful.
In the spring of 2010, Mandy graduated from Greenville Technical College with an associate of arts degree. She is taking courses to transfer to a bachelor’s degree program in social work through the University Center in Greenville and Mandy has every expectation that she will soon realize her childhood dream of becoming a professional counselor.
Now, Mandy is giving back to the program that helped her get her life back. She is in her second year of teaching and mentoring other students in United Ministries’ G.E.D. program.
“I think it helps that I’ve been where they are,” she said. “If I see someone struggling, I’ll pull them aside and tell them, ‘I’ve been right where you are and if I can do it, I know you can, too’.”
But what Mandy is most proud of is her newfound confidence as a mother for her children and the cycle of success she’s created for the next generation. Her daughter Kassie – a second grader – is already reading at the fourth grade level, and her young son Cody is set to follow in their footsteps.
“I think they see how important school is to me, and because they see me working hard, they want to do it, too,” she said.
Little Gus has big dreams
Of all the traits Gustavo “Little Gus” Santiago shares with his family, perhaps the most important one is his ambition and ability to dream big.
His parents, Marisol and Gustavo, left Mexico 11 years ago with dreams of making a family and a better life for their children in the United States. Even though neither had completed school in their native country and they spoke little English, they were willing to work hard to achieve their dreams in America.
Both Gus and his little brother, Jose, were born in the U.S. and his parents – like any loving, caring family – wanted the best for their children in their new country. So, when Gus entered school and began to have difficulties, Gustavo and Marisol were fearful that they could not help their son achieve academically due to differences in the education system and their personal limitations with the English language.
Fortunately, Communities of Schools in Greenville County (CISG) was there to help. A United Way funded program that connects schools with community resources, CISG helps students learn and prepare for life.
As a tiny first grade student and struggling with literacy, Gus enrolled in CISG’s afterschool program at Monaview Elementary School, as well as its six-week summer enrichment program. As he participated in the CISG afterschool program, Gus – as well as his parents – grew more confident in his abilities to succeed in school and in life. For the past three years with CISG, Gus has received the homework assistance that his parents could not easily provide due to language barriers. He also interacts daily with caring adults who read with him, encourage him to speak openly about his dreams, and who cultivate a love of reading, writing and public speaking.
Today, Gus is an honor roll student at Monaview. He often shares stories of his Mexican heritage and is very proud of what his parents did to provide a better life for him. Gus is also considered to be an expert on South Carolina history, and after a special afterschool visit to Furman University, set a goal of attending college one day.
But Gus’s dreams don’t stop there. Ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, and he’s not shy to proclaim: “The first Mexican-American President of the United States.”
United Way and Senior Action help Joe find his old self again
Three decades ago, Joe Castronovo, a New York City native and restaurateur, was the toast of the town.
He moved to Greenville with his wife and three children in 1982 and opened Peppino’s, an authentic Italian restaurant that fed local diners for 22 years. Three of those years his restaurant was named “Most Romantic Restaurant in Greenville.”
Then everything changed. Business declined, development in the area changed the access to his restaurant, his health began to worsen and before he knew it, Joe lost everything. His wife left him. His son was estranged and his other children moved away to build their own lives. The bank took his home, his furniture, and ultimately, his dreams.
Senior Action, a long-time United Way partner focusing on the needs of seniors in the community, first met Joe when he wandered in to an outdoor picnic being held downtown to celebrate National Older Americans Month. He was dirty because he had been sleeping outside. He only had the clothes on his back (which he had gotten from recently being discharged from the hospital). He was hungry and beaten down.
“I had paper pants and a paper shirt, that was it,” said Joe. “I was in bad shape.”
Senior Action quickly responded and addressed his basic needs, providing him with food and clothing, and assisted him in finding and securing affordable housing. Senior Action staff began picking up Joe at his new home every day and brought him to Senior Action, where he had a hot meal at lunchtime and began to meet new friends and build new relationships.
Today, at 80 years old, Joe will tell you “life is beautiful.” He visits Senior Action regularly to exercise, take classes (ukulele is his favorite), play dominoes and enjoy lunch. He has repaired his relationship with his former wife, who is almost completely disabled, and he provides for her care. He has even taught a Senior Action class on authentic Italian cooking and is currently writing a cookbook on Mediterranean cuisine.
Joe can be seen most days at Senior Action, a place that offered a helping hand when he needed it most.
“To me, Senior Action is like a second family,” he said. “I don’t know where I’d be without them.”
Denise Laughlin finds a LADDER to success
Six years ago, Denise Laughlin was working what she describes as a “dead-end job,” with no health insurance or benefits for her or her young daughter.
“I was working 12 hours per day and didn’t get to spend any time with my little girl,” said Laughlin. “She would say to me, ‘Momma, just don’t work.’”
That conversation inspired Laughlin to seek a new start, but with finances tight, going back to school seemed like an impossible stretch. That’s when she found a LADDER at Sunbelt Human Advancement Resources, Inc. (SHARE).
Funded with a grant from United Way of Greenville County, the LADDER (Lifelong Advancement through Diligence, Determination and Employment Resources) program provides comprehensive assistance in employment and job training, including financial and support services, for low to moderate income individuals.
LADDER provides training in resume writing and interview skills, and helps enroll qualified participants in job training courses. Program participants also get individual attention from case managers who work with the participants to remove some of the traditional barriers to employment.
Laughlin was connected with LADDER case manager Quiwanna James, whom she credits with helping change herl ife.
“She told me to come in and dress for success,” said Laughlin. “She helped me get my resume up to date. I couldn’t have done it without her.”
With financial assistance from SHARE covering everything from tuition and supplies to childcare, Laughlin was able to go back to school and studied to become a nursing assistant. She earned the necessary certifications to get hired in the field, and is now working her dream job with The Cottages at Brushy Creek.
“I’m no longer stuck in a deadend job,” said Laughlin. “I can take classes, get into the guidance assistance program, or take RN classes. My life is so much more fulfilled now that I have done this.”
As wonderful as it was to graduate and get hired, Laughlin said that was just the beginning.
“One of my proudest moments was when my little girl was doing a report at school on who she admired the most,” she said. “She could have chosen anyone, but she chose me because I went back to school to improve our situation.”
See Jack Run: Meyer Center and United Way help boy hit his stride
Four-year-old Jack Guinn did things differently than most babies.
Born premature, Jack has global delays – meaning he experienced delays in all areas of child development. Meeting developmental milestones that most parents take for granted, such as eating, crawling, talking, etc., was a struggle.
“Jack never really crawled,” said his father, Richard Guinn. “He would only scoot with one arm for support. When we tried to get him to walk, he would just fall. We were starting to think he would never walk without having something to hold onto.”
The Guinns took Jack for a multitude of tests and therapies, shuttling from doctor to doctor and therapist to therapist. After experiencing months of frustration with no answers, they were referred to the Meyer Center for Special Children in Greenville, a United Way partner agency.
“At first, fighting the denial that our son needed such help I suppose, we felt a little reluctant to enroll Jack at the Meyer Center,” said Richard. “In fact, during a visit to the center, after seeing all of the children with various disabilities being helped there, my wife broke down into tears. She was devastated. The staff was there to comfort and reassure her.”
But the Guinns quickly learned why the Meyer Center has developed such a strong reputation in the medical and social services community.
It was not long after Jack began attending the Meyer Center, at almost two years old, that he began to walk on his own.
“The first time we saw him walk without support, we were dumbfounded, thrilled, and basically blown away,” said Richard. “I even joked to the staff, that they could have turned water into wine and I’d have been less impressed. It was like a miracle to us.
“For lack of a better way to say it, I feel that this was all due to the fact that his therapist decided to think outside of the box. She figured out a way to get him to walk on his own. She strapped a belt around his waist and let him hold onto the excess leash beyond the buckle. His main situation, as I had suspected, was clearly a mental fear of not having any support. She realized that if he had something to hold onto, he would walk on his own. And he did.”
Now, he even runs.
“People used to joke about how I’d be wishing he was still scooting along once he starts walking and running around on his own,” said Richard. “As much as I can appreciate that joke now, as he walks, runs, and even crawls onto furniture by himself, I am still thankful for the extremely special people that have the ability and patience to do what they do in order to make others’ lives better.”
Four-year-old Jack Guinn did things differently than most babies.