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SC working families and financial hardship

DJ Hampton, president and CEO of Trident United Way in North Charleston, SC
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DJ Hampton, president and CEO of Trident United Way in North Charleston, SC

Our next guest’s organization recently received some research which he says is the most comprehensive look yet at financial hardship among working families across our state. And it involves an acronym known as ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. Mike Switzer interviews DJ Hampton, president and CEO of Trident United Way in North Charleston, SC.

Trident United Way logo
Trident United Way
Trident United Way logo

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After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.