Written by Amy Andrews

Bright Blessings lives up to its name, as a bright spot in the lives of local homeless and impoverished children by helping them celebrate their birthdays. Bright Blessings has grown since its founding by Amy and John Cervantes in 2005 to now include programs like Bless-a- Baby, which provides baskets of newborn items for new homeless and impoverished mothers and babies.

“COVID has certainly affected what we are able to do now, as a great deal of our birthday care packages were delivered via CMS schools which are not in person right now,” shared Tisha Henderson, Executive Director, Bright Blessings. “We are still sending supplies to shelters, which have been each handling their celebrations differently.”

Written by Sarah Fligel

Life has dealt Jenny Van-Strahlen some blows. At five, she lost her Mom and spent her early childhood in a foster home and with extended family. In her mid-20s, her first marriage ended, and she found herself homeless. But today? She’s close to completing her bachelor’s degree in psychology and human services at Montreat College. In May, she’ll attend the University of Kentucky School of Social Work for a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling.

It's one thing to dream. It's another thing entirely to have a team behind you as you reach for that dream. For a growing group of young people, Carolina Youth Coalition (CYC) is the team helping them become first-generation college graduates who are equipped to make a difference in the world. 

"Talent is distributed equally throughout our communities but the opportunity is not," says Carolina Youth Coalition Co-Founder Aaron Rudolph. "CYC empowers our hardworking, first-generation college students with the resources and strong support network to graduate from college, spark economic mobility, and return to their communities as leaders, innovators, and advocates for others."

You Can't Pull Yourself Up by the Bootstraps if There Aren't Bootstraps to Pull

“Families in our program are the hardest working, most caring parents, not clients. We really get to know them,” Families Forward Founder, Carrie Christian explained to me. “We’re working primarily with the adults in the family for the parents to learn skills, through the workshops they attend and family support they receive, so that they can pass down to their children. They are incredible and our volunteers give so much of their time to others. It’s the hands-on relationship, and it takes time - the impact of what you’re doing - doing with and not for is key in our program.”

The billboard on I-77 South recently caught my eye - “6 ft shouldn’t sound like 60 feet apart,” it read. Hearing loss exacerbated is yet another effect of COVID.  People with hearing impairments can sometimes get by with lip-reading, but masks have made that almost impossible. 

Therefore, Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center (CSHC)’s Giving Tuesday’s goal is to raise awareness of and funds for their mission- to provide the gift of speech and hearing to all those in need in the Charlotte community, regardless of income or other barriers.