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.
The Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte is a well-known institution, beloved for its mission to provide a safe, caring and affordable home-away-from-home for families with children receiving care in local medical facilities.
Despite the pandemic, RMH of Charlotte has kept its doors open since March 17th when most things shut down. According to Kristin Young, Associate Director of Advancement for RMHC, “We have been and will continue to be here to house families whose children are sick or injured.”
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."
Attolero is Latin for “sustain” or “support”, and that is exactly what Robert Bales and his small team of professionals at Attolero aim to do for Charlotte nonprofits. Founded in 2016 and serving nonprofits nation-wide, Attolero is excited to contribute right here in their hometown by partnering with SHARE Charlotte.
"Attolero is thrilled to team up with SHARE Charlotte - we have a shared passion and mission for serving nonprofits, and we [Attolero] are excited to broaden our impact in the Charlotte nonprofit community," Bales announces. “Together, we are going to bring more meaningful content to SHARE’s digital Nonprofit Bulletin Board, a private Facebook group where over 400 Mecklenburg County nonprofits are collaborating to share ideas, resources and needs across their organizations”.
The Charlotte Business Journal and SHARE Charlotte teamed up again this year to host #BizGivesCLT! Annually, #BizGivesCLT recognizes Charlotte businesses who generously support Charlotte nonprofits in big, bold and creative ways in honor of #GivingTuesdayCLT which this year fell on December 1st!
Shay Hunt burst into tears when she got the call that Raise a Child of the Carolinas, the nonprofit she founded just a year ago, had won a $5,000 grant through SHARE Charlotte from the Amy and Brian France Foundation. “Oh my gosh when they called me I started crying. I could not believe it, my voice was shaking,” Hunt said.
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.”
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We have so much great news to share from our nonprofit partners about their amazing work. But, we'd love to hear from you. Let us know if you have stories you'd like to tell and we'll make you a guest blogger!!
