An executive on business in the Midlands stops in an airport gift shop to pick up some postcards for his children. He chooses a few from the rack for his two sons. His selection includes cards depicting Riverbanks Zoo, Lake Murray, the University of South Carolina, and the State Museum.
The businessman’s children would get quite a different impression of the Midlands if the postcard rack offered a different array of local scenes. Consider these slices of everyday life: How about a destitute family living in a rundown apartment? Or a homeless person waiting for care in a crowded hospital emergency room? Or a police officer making a drug arrest? The thought of putting such photos on picture postcards is enough to make one cringe. Yet the stark reality is that they represent as much of the fabric of the Midlands as the attractions that draw people to the region.
The concerns plaguing the people of the Midlands cannot be addressed by any one agency or governmental program. That’s why five organizations formed a partnership in order to study the community’s complex issues. These partners are: Central Carolina Community Foundation, Central Midlands Council of Governments, the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce, Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, and United Way of the Midlands.
Utilizing the combined efforts of more than 75 volunteer personnel, representing diverse segments of the community, the partnership directed an extensive process of research, in-depth discussion and community input. The culmination of these efforts resulted in a comprehensive report: Facing Facts: A Study of Issues That Shape Our Region. The information presented on this website is a summary of that report.
Through this website, the Facing Facts partners hope to increase public awareness of the most pressing issues facing citizens in the Midlands and to encourage ongoing communication about these complex societal concerns. This in turn can help foster change, as well as encourage the continued financial support that is paramount to the agencies and organizations that address.
The Facing Facts report was organized into five major sections, each serving as an umbrella for a number of related concerns. Dedicated committees spent untold hours gathering, analyzing, and prioritizing the specific issues that were ultimately included in each section of the report. Each of the issues will be studied again in future years to determine if improvement was made by community effort. It is through these efforts that the citizens of the Midlands can help each other make their home a better place to live.
Central Carolina Community Foundation
Central Midlands Council on Government
Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce
Download the Facing Facts Content