It was great to see so many Rotarians at our September 5th meeting! This week, we transitioned Michael Messer from Red to Blue Badge. Congratulations, Michael! President Kim Campbell reminded members that we will be meeting at SEDA on September 12th and of the upcoming September Social at Savannah Jazz Festival on September 19th. Once all Rotary business items were discussed, Cheri Dean introduced our speaker for the week, Leia Dedic, who presented on ALICE.
ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. These are individuals who are employed but do not earn enough money to make ends meet. Leia said that the poverty line is the same across the United States but the cost of living is different. The poverty line for a family of four is $32,150. For Chatham County, a family of four would need to make $84,400 a year in order to survive. The stability budget for a family of four in our area would be $130,000. Over 4 million people in Georgia fall into ALICE which is about 31% of our population.
By having this data, it makes it easier to connect people to resources as well as help nonprofit's apply and secure grants. Employers also use this data to support their employees which reduces turnover. To learn more about ALICE and the United Way of the Coastal Empire, please visit https://uwce.org/improvelives/