In March 1998, the United Way of South Carolina was asked by Mayor John Douglas of Chesterfield to form another United Way in the county. There were already three United Ways servicing that community and another would further dilute the community’s ability to adequately serve its constituents. Following a series of meetings with all of the United Ways serving Chesterfield County, representatives of the United Ways of McBee and Cheraw decided to come together to look at merging the organizations.

 

The Boards of Directors for these United Ways agreed that a consolidated effort would serve the county more effectively and efficiently. By establishing one or two strong United Ways in Chesterfield County, they could reduce duplicative campaign efforts, create a single point of entry for agency support, and expand resident access to services countywide.

 

The Board of Directors of each United Way chose three representatives from United Way of Cheraw and United Way of McBee boards and three representatives from United Way of Cheraw and United Way of McBee boards and three representatives from the town of Chesterfield to make up a Steering Committee that would guide the merger process. To ensure balance, the Steering Committee also named Margaret Plettinger-Mitchell of the Chesterfield County Coordinating Council to serve as the member-at-large representing health and human services. The first meeting of the Steering Committee was September 14, 1998.

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In 2011, the Jefferson-Pageland United Way closed and was merged with United Way of Chesterfield County leaving only one United Way for the whole county.