NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Trident United Way today announced that the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has joined Thrive@™Work, its program that brings confidential, one-on-one Family Coaching into the workplace. MUSC, home to one of South Carolina’s largest workforces, becomes the seventh employer partner in the growing network.
Through Thrive@™Work, eligible employees can connect in person, by phone or online with a Trident United Way Family Coach who listens, helps address the immediate challenge and builds a plan around the family’s goals. When funding is available, short-term assistance may be paid directly to a vendor to help stabilize an urgent housing, utility, transportation or childcare need. Coaching continues beyond that moment as families work toward lasting financial stability.
Participation is voluntary and confidential. Employees work directly with Trident United Way, not through their manager or human resources team. Employers may receive aggregate, de-identified reporting on broader workforce needs, but no employee’s personal information is shared.
“MUSC understands that financial stress can affect every part of a person’s life, including their ability to thrive at work,” said Tom Nesteruk, enterprise chief people officer at MUSC. “Thrive@™Work connects employees to trusted coaching and targeted support, while giving employers meaningful insight into workforce needs without compromising privacy.”
MUSC’s partnership expands access at a time when many working families are struggling to keep pace with the cost of living. In Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties, 129,589 households, or 37%, live below the ALICE Threshold, including households in poverty. ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed and describes households that earn above the federal poverty level but not enough to afford the basics. A local family of four with two children in childcare needs $91,344 a year to cover those basics, leaving little room for a car repair, missed shift or sudden loss of childcare.
“Financial stress does not clock out when someone clocks in,” said DJ Hampton, president and CEO of Trident United Way. “The families we are working to reach are already on the job. Thrive@™Work brings Family Coaching right to the workplace so one car repair, missed shift or unexpected expense does not have to become a crisis.”
MUSC joins Banks Construction Company; Capital Services Group; The GEL Group; Johnson & Johnson, Inc., the Mount Pleasant-based wholesale insurance broker; Keel; and Make-A-Way Logistics. Together, the seven partners show how the same confidential coaching model can work across industries and workforce sizes. From July 2025 through July 2026, 249 families connected with Family Coaching through Thrive@™Work.
Thrive@™Work is a natural extension of Trident United Way’s work with ALICE families. It meets working families where they are, right where they earn their paycheck, and advances the organization’s bold community goal to uplift 15,000 Tri-County families out of poverty by 2035.
Employers interested in bringing Thrive@™Work to their teams can contact Ilze Astad, Chief Family Stability Solutions Officer, at iastad@tuw.org or visit TUW.org/ThriveAtWork.
Trident United Way’s End of Year Give A Way is a community-wide effort to raise $2 million by Dec. 31 to help expand Family Coaching and Thrive@™ across the Tri-County. To join the campaign, visit TUW.org/GiveAWay.
For more information about Trident United Way, visit TUW.org.
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ABOUT TRIDENT UNITED WAY
For more than 80 years, Trident United Way has been a trusted partner in building a stronger future for Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties. With a bold goal to uplift 15,000 families out of poverty by 2035, we lead collaborative solutions that increase income, reduce debt and open pathways to opportunity for local families, creating lasting impact for generations to come.