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Success Stories
There are basic things that we all need for a good life: a quality education that leads to a stable job, income that can support a family through retirement, and good health. Thanks to the generosity of individuals, companies, their employees and retirees, United Way of the Coastal Empire is making lasting changes in people’s lives across Bryan, Chatham, Effingham and Liberty counties.
Read these real-life stories of lives touched through United Way.
Guiding Girls to Greatness
 If you met Haley today, you probably wouldn’t guess that at such a young age, she had experienced the grief of loss and separation as results of violence. Haley was only ten years old when her older brother Thomas was killed in an act of violence on Savannah’s Southside. After this devastating loss, Haley and her parents were consumed with grief and directed to area resources for victims and families who have been affected by violence. Read more...
Antoinette's Second Chance to Life
 In January 2004, Antoinette Hastings reported complications following a medical procedure. She remained hospitalized for several months. After several months of rehabilitation, Antoinette was referred to and enrolled in Goodwill Industries Second Chance Community Re-entry Program in April 2006. Second Chance is a program designed to provide employment and training services to those with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). Read more...
Home Sweet Home...Away from Home
 Bob is a delightful and caring man. Although physically fit and able to communicate well, he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at age 57. Not knowing where to turn, he and his wife attended their fist Alzheimer’s Support Group meeting at Senior Citizens, Inc. and both left in tears. They were afraid of the future challenges and decisions that now faced them, especially because Bob’s wife works full time as a Registered Nurse, and Bob was not able to safely stay at home by himself. Read more...
Guiding Youth down the Path to Empowerment
 It is very unfortunate that our community struggles with issues involving teen violence, gang involvement, teen pregnancy and graduation rates. For Pamela Jones, these should not be realities that teenagers have to deal with in their young age. Instead, she believes that teens need to be exposed to programs and activities that foster leadership and character development. Read more...
A Volunteer Finds Her Match
 Georgeanne loves helping others. She also enjoys crocheting and over the past three years has crocheted hundreds of baby blankets and adult lap blankets that she wanted to donate to those who really needed them. Read more...
Conquering the Road to Reading
 Rosemary (left) had a very simple wish. She wanted to be able to read children’s books to her granddaughter. Unfortunately, for Rosemary this didn’t come easy. Rosemary had difficulty reading. She tried attending various special education programs, but was always struggling to grasp the basic skills. Read more...
You're Never Too Old to Believe in Fairies
 Life has been difficult for a 16 year-old AP. (AP’s full name cannot be released due to confidentiality) As a result of unspeakable abuse as a small child, she has suffered severe brain damage, which has left her bed-bound and fed through a G-tube. Because of her condition, she will remain in foster care for the rest of her life. Thanks to the United Way’s new “Foster Fairies” program in Bryan County, AP’s life is a little brighter. Read more...
Help is Only a Phone Call Away
 Have you ever found yourself in a situation when you didn’t know where to turn next? Fortunately, there is United Way’s 2-1-1. 2-1-1 is one easy number to remember that citizens can dial to get connected with important community resources. Last year, 2-1-1 received nearly 9,000 phone calls from individuals within the Coastal Empire who were in need of health and human services. Janet was one of the individuals. Read more...
Satisfying Hunger with a Brown Bag
 As our senior citizen population continues to grow, many find that they are unable to work due to illness or disability and become forced to live below the poverty level. By the end of the month, when their resources have been depleted, they have no money left for groceries. Read more...
Developing Strength, Through Support
 Diana suffers from a neurological disease, which has left her wheelchair bound. Her health was quickly deteriorating due to a lack of cardio-vascular activity, from being confined to a wheelchair. Her limited range of focus and disability made this condition very challenging. Read more...
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Recipe for Success
 Myra (pictured in the middle, front row) grew up in Atlanta, living with her mother and brother. Every spring break, Myra’s mother would take the family to Tybee Island.
One spring break when Myra was 16, her mother decided not to go back to Atlanta. Like most 16 year olds, Myra thought she knew more than her mother. She took the money she earned as a hostess in a local restaurant to rent her own apartment. While working as a hostess, she met a graduate of the Starfish Café who told her about the culinary arts training program. Myra loved being around the kitchen and hoped one day she could be a chef.
Things turned for the worse when her mother decided to return to Atlanta. Myra dropped out of high school here and eventually quit her job. She started running the streets in Savannah and hanging out with the wrong crowd when she was 18. Her mother warned her about them, but she just wouldn’t listen. It wasn’t long before she became homeless living in her car.
Then, just like her mother warned, the lifestyle she was leading ended up getting her into trouble; and she spent her first night in jail. When things seemed they couldn’t get any worse, they did. Myra was robbed at gun point and lost everything that she owned.
A blessing in disguise, Myra got pregnant. This turned out to be a major turning point in her life as she knew a baby would change her life forever. When she was five months pregnant, she was working at Wendy’s and was barely making enough money to pay rent. Without an education, she didn’t know what to do and worried constantly about her unborn baby.
Seven months pregnant, Myra moved into The Living Vine, a maternity home that provides a safe and loving environment for mothers and their unborn babies. It was at The Living Vine that she re-discovered her passion for cooking. She spent her free time cooking and baking for other girls who lived there. While she was at The Living Vine, she also earned her GED and began to think about going to The Starfish Café.
After the birth of her son, she moved to Hope House, a homeless shelter for women with children. She found out that the Starfish Café was only a couple of blocks away, so she got on the phone and scheduled an interview to enroll.
She loved being in the culinary arts program and learned everything that she possibly could. In the Life Skills classes, she learned how to make better decisions, what to say and when to say it and how to write a resume. She learned many important lessons like “a dull knife makes a dull Chef.” She felt like The Starfish Café gave her hope that her son would be okay.
Myra graduated with a 100 average. On the same day she graduated, she had her second interview at The Mansion on Forsyth. She also got a job at the Crystal Beer Parlor where another graduate of the café worked. Before she knew it, she was working two jobs, was enrolled full time at Savannah Technical College and bought her own car. Now, she and her son are living in their own apartment. Her next goals are to own her own home by the time her son starts school and to graduate from Savannah Tech.
For additional information on programs and services offered by Union Mission, please call 912.236.7423 or visit www.unionmission.org.
Click here to download Myra's story in PDF format.
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