When it comes to health, your ZIP code makes a bigger difference than your genetic code — especially in Charlotte, where people have a harder time rising out of poverty than in most other U.S. cities.
The American Heart Association wants to change this. In addition to their renowned research and signature charity events, AHA is determined to empower people in underserved Queen City communities with access to heart healthcare and prevention.
70% of U.S. adults are overweight, and 40% of those are obese.
Staggering numbers, yes.
And they’re only getting worse.
That extra weight carries serious health consequences, too, as it’s linked directly to America’s number one killer, heart disease — a narrowing of blood vessels that drastically increases your chances of having a heart attack, chest pain, or full-fledged stroke.
Cancer is often unavoidable. Heart disease, though? It’s mostly preventable.
Have you ever had a bad day and the first thing you wanted to do was take a nice, hot bath or shower? In addition to providing the basic human necessity of cleanliness, showers serve as a reset button. They erase a workout, a bad day or they begin a new day.
Now imagine not having a home in which to consistently take that shower.
In June 2014, Lava Mae launched in San Francisco with a goal to deliver access to critical services and restore dignity for 30,000 Californians experiencing homelessness and to enable one million new showers around the globe by the end of 2018.
What about blood? Did that make the list? If it didn’t, it should have.
Especially as it relates to heart health, blood plays a vital role in our everyday life. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH), “Your heart is vital to your health and nearly everything that goes on in your body. Without the heart’s pumping action, blood can’t move throughout your body. Your blood carries the oxygen and nutrients that your organs need to work well. Blood also carries carbon dioxide (a waste product) to your lungs so that you can breathe it out.”
A picture is worth a thousand words. Or sometimes, it’s just one word.
Family.
Thousands of children ages birth to eighteen are placed into foster homes each year in North Carolina. Since 2006, Charlotte-based Carolina Family Connections has helped to provide family foster care for children in need of out-of-home placement. Carolina Family Connections is committed to recruiting, training, and supervising family foster care homes providing the best care possible for children who need out-of-home care.
During #GivingTuesdayCLT, Carolina Family Connections raised $1850 and gained three new foster families. But during that time they were connected to a volunteer who would make a lasting impact on the organization and the families it helps.
Before I wrote this article, my understanding of human trafficking was limited to what I had seen in movies like Taken and Crash. Needless to say, I had a lot of learning to do.
Present Age Ministries opened my eyes to the reality of human trafficking. As a mother of a daughter and as a Charlottean, I was stunned to learn that it's prevalent, it's pervasive, and it's happening right in front of our eyes - to girls in every ZIP code in this community.
Charlotte is the number-one city for human trafficking in a state that ranks eighth in the country. Considering only two percent of worldwide human trafficking victims are rescued, it's clear that this city needs help.
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato
Simply put, music brings life. And the Charlotte Chorale has brought heart to the Queen City for more than 15 years.
Founded in 2003, the Charlotte Chorale is a premier choir in Charlotte comprised of auditioned singers who wish to enrich local communities by sharing the joy of song. You may have seen one of their many shows performed throughout the year or you’ve seen them perform the National Anthem for the USO, Carowinds Opening Day, Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Checkers.
February is American Heart Month and heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. It is important to help spread the word about not only the risks, but also the solutions. The good news? Heart disease can often be prevented and awareness is the first step!
We will be not only be highlighting our nonprofit partners who work to promote healthy hearts this month, but also those who help to promote healthy blood pumping through them as well! This month there are hearts almost everywhere you look - heart shaped balloons, cards and chocolate boxes, but let's not forget about those that are with us all year long and the nonprofits who help keep them going!
My daughter ran down the hill to the ice cream truck with her piggy bank tucked under her arm like a football, me a few paces behind her. Once I arrived a bit out of breath. I smiled at the two female neighbors and the man they were with. I’d seen them before, but never all at the same time.
“I want an ice cream,” he said, and there was a silent hunger from the women with only their eyes. Silently they tugged at his sleeve, child-like. He brushed them off, and I offered the coins to the women and told them, “We have plenty of change if you want something.” “They don’t,” he tersely responded and the exchange became awkward as the women’s eyes lowered, ashamed puppy-like to the pavement.
This was the the silent exchange between these neighbors, but not the first.
Due to economic issues and the nation’s opioid crisis, North Carolina has its highest rate of foster care children since 2008.
Almost 12,000 children under age 18 in North Carolina are a part of the state’s foster care system. To be a part of the system, a child, aged 1 day to 18 years, must be certified by a Juvenile Court Judge as being “abandoned, abused or neglected” and be part of a family that is 150 percent below the state’s poverty level.
In North Carolina, approximately 650 youth exit foster care annually, resulting in a population of 2,600 young people who may need assistance at any given time.
Until 2010, foster care funding in the United States ended when a child reached age 18.
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!!
