The York County Regional Chamber (YCRC) and the York County Chamber Foundation (YCRC Foundation) publicly kicked off a new five-year capital campaign on November 18 with an official announcement at their office in downtown Rock Hill. With an audience of 75 in attendance, Campaign Co-Chairs Jan Martin of Domtar and Marc Howie of York Electric Cooperative reported that the organization had already raised $897,000 which is 60% of the $1.5 million goal.   

LIFT is a trailblazing initiative powered by the York County Regional Chamber and its Foundation, designed to foster collaboration among businesses, workforce partners, and the education community to deliver high-quality, sustainable workforce solutions for York County.

LIFT is engineered to meet the Chamber’s vision of moving our region forward with innovation towards a future where business prospers.

“We are thrilled that over 25 companies have already committed to this vital program. They are making an investment in York County’s workforce pipeline and economic future,” stated Howie.   

With a theme of “LIFT,” (Leadership Institute for Talent) YCRC Foundation shared its new five-year strategic plan of 17 specific strategies within three components: 

• Employment Sector Pathways
• Upskilling
• Advocacy

Jan Martin of Domtar is the YCRC Board Chair. “Nearly every community is challenged with workforce issues. Dean Faile, Chamber President & CEO, had a vision of building the workforce pipeline from within the community. York County Council seeded these initiatives three years ago and they have exploded with success. Demand exceeds capacity and the Chamber is racing to scale up.” 

“York Electric was the first to make a significant financial pledge to the LIFT initiatives, said Marc Howie. While there are countless communities with strategies of attracting talent, the LIFT initiatives focus on growing talent within York County. Our Chamber is on the leading edge and is already being studied by other communities around the nation.” 

“Our employment sector strategy work is expected to increase employment by 5%, equating to 2,500 new jobs. We are connecting students with local employers, developing personal leadership skills in countless companies, and advocating in support of workforce development public policy. This is a long play to build, grow, and strengthen the regional workforce pipeline,” said Dean Faile.

Over the next five years, the LIFT initiatives are expected to touch the lives of over 50,000 York County residents through programs including Leader in Me, EPIC (Employer Provided Innovation Challenges), Business Expedition, World of Work, career awareness, Business Roundtables and four levels of leadership development training.  

“While this is our official start, says Martin, “the campaign will continue for several more months.”  YCRC officials will be inviting other businesses to invest. “This is a collaborative approach,” adds Martin. 

York County Regional Chamber

The York County Regional Chamber (YCRC) is the connection between your business and our diverse and growing community. We provide resources, advocacy, relationships, and programs to help you capitalize on our region’s strengths. As the largest chamber in our SC region, we work in partnership with over 700 businesses and organizations from Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Tega Cay, and York. We are CACCE accredited and powered by professional staff and a strong, diverse volunteer leadership team. Learn more about the Chamber here.