Randy Davis was running out of options.
The 41-year-old Starkville resident lost his job at an area manufacturing plant in February 2020 and was surviving off his 401K as he fruitlessly looked for work during the opening months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By July, the single father of three had gained custody of his two minor children — son Avery, 5; and daughter Ariana, 3. But by then, Davis’ retirement savings were exhausted and the light bill was due.
Making things worse, his parents had COVID, his father hospitalized with a severe case.
“Everything all hit in one whomp,” Davis said. “… And the backbone I had through my family was suddenly no longer in a position to help.”
Davis’ sister recommended he contact the United Way of North Central Mississippi, which serves Oktibbeha, Choctaw, Webster and Winston counties. It was good advice.
The chapter, with its headquarters in downtown Starkville, provided Davis immediate assistance with his utility bill and facilitated connections with partner organizations. He enrolled his son in programs at the Boys and Girls Club and took parenting classes at Emerson Family School.
By January, Davis had a job working for a major retailer.
“They received me with open arms and love,” Davis said of the United Way. “I’m very grateful to them.”
Brittney Oliver, director for the United Way chapter, called Davis “one of our success stories.” He’s one of thousands the chapter has helped over the years, in one way or the other.
Uncertain times for United Way
Oliver volunteered with United Way, even serving a stint as a board member, after she moved to Starkville in 2014 and taught at Mississippi State University. She left for Marion County, Florida, five years later and briefly worked for the United Way chapter there.
When Oliver agreed last June to rejoin the United Way of North Central Mississippi, this time as director, she returned to the same office suite on the third floor of the Regions Bank building that has housed the headquarters for years.
That was one of the few things that hadn’t changed, she said.
An organization that once funded $5,000 grants for 14 partner nonprofits each year gave much smaller grants to only three in 2020, Oliver said. A capital campaign that once aimed to raise $150,000 annually fell well short of that mark last year, though Oliver didn’t offer more specifics.
“It’s concerning,” Oliver said of the organization’s financial outlook. “We’re trying to determine how to move forward. … If nothing changes, in the near future, we will suffer severe limitations to the services we can provide.”
COVID-19 isn’t helping.
Touch a Truck, an event coordinated with first responders that allows children to see fire, police and other vehicles up close, was canceled this year. That dealt a blow to United Way’s visibility and its literacy awareness campaign.
Citywide Tailgate, a huge fall football-centered event that helps kick off the organization’s capital campaign, also couldn’t happen safely.
“Direct-appeal” fundraising, which has been the organization’s primary method, is flagging, partly because the pandemic has limited in-person visits to homes and businesses and also due to general uncertainty from would-be donors.
“Businesses are hurting,” Oliver said. “People we would traditionally ask for financial support are now sometimes people who need help themselves.”
There are also those who want to give, she said, but because of the length of the ongoing pandemic, do so more conservatively.
“People are a bit more aware of the uncertainty,” she said. “That’s really hit us all.”
For sustainability, Oliver is looking outside the area for grants and “other opportunities for investment” in the organization. But to thrive, more is needed locally.
“We have to have the backing of our communities,” she said.
Reframing the conversation
When people contact United Way for help, they are usually in “crisis mode.”
If people need food, United Way connects them with one of 26 food pantries in its four-county network. If it’s utility assistance related to COVID-19, there are special funds they use to help with that.
Homelessness is trickier, Oliver said, since dedicated shelters are few and far between. Many times, United Way works with area churches to help get people temporary shelter.
“The first thing we try to do is listen,” Oliver said. “People really just want to be heard, so we let people share with us what’s going on in their world.”
After addressing immediate needs, the organization connects people with other partners, such as Boys and Girls Club, Sally Kate Winters and Emerson, for educational and other “quality of life” resources.
“A lot of times, the issues people are facing are not things that happened overnight,” Oliver said. “We want to provide more than just a band-aid.”
Just last year, the United Way chapter provided more than $61,012 in direct services for residents in the four-county area, Oliver said. That helped 1,550 families either with utility bills, living assistance or food, much of the latter coming through the United We Feed program that helps stock area food pantries.
United We Read, focused on literacy awareness for youth, provided residents 3,300 books and other resources, Oliver said.
But Oliver wants the public to see United Way as more than just the annual food and book drives that are often its most visible elements. That involves reframing the organization as one that addresses systemic issues and helps at-risk people break the “crisis” cycle.
United Way is working to launch more of its own programs toward that end, starting with one focused on financial literacy for low-income youth, Oliver said.
Where the chapter “has a long road ahead,” Oliver said, is showing United Way stands apart from other nonprofits in its mission and is a “worthwhile cause” that “shows return on investment.”
She said the organization is offering more fundraising opportunities virtually and trying to recruit more businesses to give — either directly or through regular pledges from employees.
Oliver also is seeking feedback from longtime supporters who have stuck with United Way, as well as others who once contributed but stopped.
“We want to know, ‘Why did you continue?'” Oliver said. “Or, ‘Why did you stop and how can we reinitiate that engagement?’
“We want people to truly champion United Way and get others in their network on board,” she added.
‘It’s a light you don’t want to dim’
In his new job, Davis works with plants.
That’s familiar territory for the Sturgis native, who grew up tending livestock and growing vegetables.
Last year, on his parents’ property in Sturgis, he began raising a garden again, with everything from okra, greens and strawberries to peanuts and potatoes. His children enjoy getting out in the garden too.
“It gives us something to do, and we love to watch it grow,” he said.
Starting this year, Davis plans to donate some of his vegetables to United Way, as well as volunteer his time with the organization however he can.
“I’d like to be a spokesperson for United Way and how they helped change my circumstances in a difficult time,” Davis said.
Without United Way, Davis said he isn’t sure how he would manage. If it went away, he can’t imagine how it would affect others in similar, or more desperate, situations.
“It’s a light you don’t want to dim,” he said.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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