The United Way of Onslow County held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning to welcome the community into its new home.
The United Way of Onslow County was founded in April 1955, and for over 69 years, has been bringing people, organizations and communities together around a common cause, a common vision and a common path forward, according to United Way of Onslow President Raquel Painter.
The new home of United Way of Onslow, 118 Chaney Avenue, was constructed in the early 1940s, and initially served as the Jacksonville Volunteer Firehouse, Jacksonville City Hall and the Jacksonville Police Department.
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune was also established in the 1940s, Painter explained, the city’s population at the time just 850 residents.
“The Chaney Avenue building was sufficient for the small community needs at that time; however, as we know, Jacksonville’s population rapidly grew due to the establishment of the base,” Painter said. “The building became too small for the police, fire and city hall to share.”
In 1956, city hall, Fire Station 1 and the police department were relocated to a larger building, though the Jacksonville Volunteer Fire Department remained, using the building as their headquarters for a total of 93 years.
In 2019, the property was donated to the Brigade Girls and Boys Club, before being transferred to United Way.
The downstairs consists of the CHEW program and the Healthy Opportunities program, while the upstairs is home to the community volunteer resource center and administrative offices.
“It was important to get the volunteer resource center its own space as evident by the needs after Hurricane Florence,” Painter said. “We needed a space to coordinate amongst the nonprofit, local and from throughout the country, to meet the community’s needs through a coordinated effort. Now, we are ready for when the next disaster hits, because it’s not if, it’s going to be when.”
In 2023, United Way expanded the reach of CHEW, now supporting 957 food-insecure children and families throughout Onslow County. Painter said the program provided 31,687 bags of food, totaling 380,244 food items, in 2023.
This year, United Way is working with the Department of Health and Human Services through the Healthy Opportunities program to provide food boxes to children enrolled in Medicaid. They’ve also partnered with DoorDash to make deliveries to those who are unable to pick up boxes or are too embarrassed to do so.
Painter added that volunteer engagement also grew in 2023. Volunteer Onslow now has 2,410 registered volunteers. She also highlighted the 211 resource hotline, which provided information and referral services to 3,191 residents in 2023.
“211 provides NCCARE360 with valuable resources to help its effort as the first statewide coordinated care effort that regularly connects individuals to local services and resources,” Painter said.
Additionally, through its Stuff the Bus event, United Way of Onslow provided 34,000 school supplies to school social workers this year.
“Each year, our programs focus on one of our three pillars for a better tomorrow — education, health and financial stability,” Painter explained.
This year, a new partnership is in place with Lyft, which will allow them to offer residents safe and reliable transportation to medical appointments and substance abuse treatment.
For more information about United Way of Onslow County, visit uwonslow.org or call 910-347-2646.
