Help Give Away $5K This Month!
The Amy and Brian France Foundation is committed to giving away $5K each month to the CLT nonprofit of our community's choice, as part of the 2020 Spotlight Series. All YOU have to do is vote, to influence who will take home the $5K grand prize!
About Amy and Brian France
Brian France is the former Chairman and CEO of NASCAR as well as Founder and CEO of Silver Falcon Capital. Brian and his wife Amy co-founded the Amy and Brian France Foundation as well as the Luke and Meadow Foundation, named after their children.
Brian France, recognized as one of the most influential leaders in sports and entertainment during his 15 years as Chairman and CEO of NASCAR, is also an entrepreneur and philanthropist.
Silver Falcon Capital, founded by Brian France, is a direct investment company and brand incubator, partnering with entrepreneurs to globally scale emerging consumer and sports entertainment businesses.
In 2011 Brian and his wife Amy France co-founded the Luke and Meadow Foundation. Named in honor of their twins, Luke and Meadow, the foundation supports organizations and causes that help children thrive.
Good Reading Brought to you by the Amy and Brian France Foundation
Check out the latest stories from this year's #SpotlightOnCLT content series, presented by the Amy and Brian France Foundation!
August 13th, 2020 -
Led by UX designer and computer scientist, Khalia Braswell, INTech has provided numerous opportunities for girls in her home base of Charlotte to get involved in technology and kickstart fruitful careers in computer science. One of their annual events is a summer camp designed to help young girls learn technology skills, meet women mentors in the technology industry, and visit high-profile technology companies across the Carolinas.
But this year had to look a little different. Normally, INTech summer camps are held on college campuses. However, with COVID-19 regulations, INTech couldn’t hold their camps on campuses. So, like many organizations, they went virtual. Over the Zoom video conferencing platform, INTech hosted over 120 teen girls from North Carolina, Texas, California, and other states in a week-long virtual camp from July 6th-10th and July 20th – July 24th.
You might be wondering, what does a virtual summer camp look like for INTech? Well, students all...
August 11th, 2020 -
The Hornets' Nest is not your mother's Girl Scout council — or maybe it is. The Girl Scouts have been blazing trails since 1912, when founder Juliette Gordon Low started a movement to redefine what was possible for girls everywhere. The nearly 12,000 girls served by our local council continue to redefine what is possible for themselves and the communities they will someday lead.
The Hornets' Nest Council calls itself a "hive of activity." This year more than ever, many of those activities have a distinct racial justice lens, and Council leaders are determined to make sure every girl has access to Girl Scout programs, regardless of her neighborhood or zip code.
"The Girls Scouts have always been seen as a primarily upper middle class, not very diverse organization, but our council history and our partnerships with community organizations show a long history of girls of all backgrounds, including African-American girls, who have been involved for years...
August 6th, 2020 -
Written by Amy Andrews
Right Moves For Youth (RMFY) provides students in the greater Charlotte area the support and guidance they need to succeed by leveraging positive and long-lasting relationships. Using a school-based model, RMFY provides youth services and group mentoring to empower students to graduate from high school and set the stage for what comes next.
As with so many non-profits, the current COVID climate has seriously impacted the RMFY model. According to Sabrina Gilchrist, Executive Director, RMFY, “Even though we have historically been school-based and will continue with that, we are accepting of the current environment and taking it as a challenge to be creative, to innovate and to evolve.” She added, “We continue to re-assess and re-evaluate who we are serving and how we are serving those who need us the most right now.”
Because RMFY was able to start this past school year normally, they had already identified students within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg...
August 5th, 2020 -
Nonprofit Leader Helps Grow Tech Talent in Underserved Youth
By Jonathan McFadden
Two things changed William McNeely’s life when he was just a teenager: court-ordered busing and a mother who took success seriously.
As school integration got underway in the 1970s, William and his three siblings, raised in Charlotte’s Clanton Park neighborhood, stepped into a more affluent world as students at South Mecklenburg High. While jarring, their trek from Charlotte’s poorer westside to its wealthier southern sector exposed them to resources they didn’t get at home.
At the same time, their mother pushed them to play sports, study music and join the ROTC — whatever it took to leverage their new opportunities into good careers. That way, they’d do well in life and return to uplift their community.
Her rearing paid off. Today, William, 56, is the executive director of Do Greater Charlotte, a nonprofit that helps middle school-age children boost their technological knowhow in hopes...
