United Way of Wayne County
Ronnie's Story
Ronnie Singleton’s childhood began and ended in Charleston, South Carolina. Out of necessity to support his mother and siblings, Ronnie dropped out of school at nine years old to work in the fields and grocery stores. His father was an abusive man, and a lot of responsibility fell on Ronnie’s young shoulders. After a particularly bad fight with his father, Ronnie’s mother quietly slipped him twenty dollars to get as far away as he could to keep him safe from his father. Eleven-year-old Ronnie went to the bus station and asked how far twenty dollars would get him and was told Goldsboro, NC. Ronnie has learned to read and is still working on his math skills.
Not knowing anyone in this new city, Ronnie slept on the streets under bridges from age eleven to eighteen while working for a company making manhole covers. His life changed when a Good Samaritan found him and took him to a halfway house where he could live for $25 a week. Ronnie was able to get a second job and met the girl who would become his wife of 38 years now, Della. Doors opened for work at Lenoir County Public Schools and eventually at Wayne Community College, where he stayed until he retired. All the while, Ronnie could not read, but very few people knew that.
