Youth Opportunity

YOUTH OPPORTUNITY

We support children from their earliest years through graduation by increasing access to high quality early learning, family support, and school based resources. Early experiences shape long term success, so we partner with programs that prepare children for kindergarten and keep students on track as they grow. Our goal is a community where every child learns, achieves, and succeeds with strong family and community involvement.

Working with local childcare centers, we are bringing the Heggerty program into the community, which is a phonemic awareness curriculum that teaches daily phonemic lessons in 12 minutes or less.

A community awareness program that supports early learning and brain development for all children. The Basics are five simple and powerful ways that every family can give every child a strong start from birth.

Learn More

Triple P: Positive Parenting Program is one of the most effective evidence-based parenting programs in the world.

UWHC is Level 2 trained in Triple P to offer parenting classes to give parents simple and practical strategies to help them build strong, healthy relationships, confidently manage their children’s behavior and prevent problems from developing.

If you or your organization is interested in offering a Triple P Parenting Class please contact:
Richard Williams Jr. – Director of Education
richard@unitedwayhorry.org
(843) 347-1179

Through UWHC’s United to Read and Caring for Kindergartners, volunteers from the community visit Horry County Schools’ kindergarten and first-grade classrooms. Every classroom is read a book and participates in an activity related to the book’s theme.

These events promote the importance of early childhood literacy and volunteerism within Horry County.

The students see the volunteers as mentors and enjoy the event just as much as the volunteers do. 

Through UWHC’s Ready, Set, Kindergarten! program, Conway Elementary kindergarten teachers and United Way volunteers will host monthly Saturday sessions for families of rising kindergartners, coming early 2026.

The sessions focus on interactive literacy activities, parent engagement, and providing take-home materials that help reinforce kindergarten readiness skills.

The Community Baby Shower is a community-wide initiative promoting The Basics Waccamaw that collects essential baby items to support local families with newborns and infants. The program not only provides critical supplies through Baby Basics Kits, but also promotes early brain development by encouraging positive early interactions between parents and their babies.

In addition, the event connects families with valuable early childhood resources and support services available in the community. In 2025 alone, 450 Baby Basics Kits were distributed, helping ensure families had the essentials they need while strengthening connections to programs that support healthy early development.

Our Mission Ready initiative focuses on early education for children from birth to age five. It brings together several programs that support early learning, language development, and school readiness.

Mission Ready is supported by Edna Wardlaw Charitable Trust, HTC, Waccamaw Community Foundation & Elliott Realty.

Heggerty

Working with local childcare centers, we are bringing the Heggerty program into the community, which is a phonemic awareness curriculum that teaches daily phonemic lessons in 12 minutes or less.

Many thanks to our current Heggerty partner sites:

Ready, Set, Kindergarten

Through UWHC’s Ready, Set, Kindergarten! program, Conway Elementary kindergarten teachers and United Way volunteers will host monthly Saturday sessions for families of rising kindergartners, coming early 2026.
The sessions focus on interactive literacy activities, parent engagement, and providing take-home materials that help reinforce kindergarten readiness skills.

The Basics

A community awareness program that supports early learning and brain development for all children. The Basics are five simple and powerful ways that every family can give every child a strong start from birth.
Learn More

Ready for School

All children are ready for kindergarten when they are five years old by September 1 of that school year. But kindergarten readiness is more than a matter of age. For a strong start in school, children need positive relationships and supportive learning environments beginning at birth. It is our responsibility as families, caregivers, and communities to nurture the health and development necessary for school success.

South Carolina’s Profile of the Ready Kindergartner describes the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional signs of school readiness. Because each child develops differently, each child will be ready in different ways. That is why schools and educators must also be ready: prepared to meet the individual needs of students at all levels of readiness and provide whatever support and services are needed for a quality kindergarten experience.
Profile of the Ready Kindergartner (English)

Printable flyer (English)
Profile of the Ready Kindergartner (Spanish)

Printable flyer (Spanish)

Helping Every Child Read, Learn, And Thrive

United to Read

United to Read brings community volunteers into first grade classrooms across Horry County to read a book and lead a simple activity tied to the story. The event promotes early literacy, encourages curiosity, and gives students a chance to connect with caring adults who support their learning. Volunteers consistently say it is one of their favorite ways to make an impact in local schools.

This program is sponsored by:

Caring for Kindergarteners

Caring for Kindergarteners is a long running partnership with Coastal Carolina University that brings student athletes into kindergarten classrooms to read, share stories, and model kindness and community involvement. The program began in 2003 as a service initiative for CCU athletes and has since grown to include participants from all varsity sports. It teaches young students the value of reading, caring for others, and giving back.

This program is in partnership with:

Triple P

Practical parenting tools you can use right away.

Triple P is one of the most widely used evidence based parenting programs in the world. It gives parents clear, practical tools that strengthen family relationships, support healthy child development, and make day to day behavior challenges easier to manage.

UWHC is trained to offer Triple P Level 2 sessions for parents and caregivers. These classes give families simple strategies they can use right away to build confidence and prevent small concerns from turning into bigger problems.

If your organization would like to host a Triple P class, reach out to
Richard Williams Jr.
Director of Education
richard@unitedwayhorry.org
(843) 347 1179

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