Monthly Archives: April 2012

HOC’s New Leader

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Hands On Charlotte (HOC) has selected Eric Law as its new executive director, effective May 1.

Law, a former HOC board member who most recently served as director of development for Classroom Central takes over from current executive director and co-founder Lisa Quisenberry, who announced her intention to retire last year.

Law is well-known in Charlotte nonprofit circles. In addition to his most recent position at Classroom Central, he has held management positions at International House, United Family Services and Foundation For The Carolinas. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University and a master’s degree from Duke University.

“Eric brings great development, programming and organizational experience to Hands On Charlotte,” said Sara Collins, chair of the HOC board of directors. “We are so pleased that he will join the staff at this pivotal time in the organization’s history, as we conclude our 20th anniversary year and begin to plan for the future of volunteer engagement in Charlotte.”

Quisenberry plans to remain active in the Charlotte nonprofit and civic community. She is currently a member of the steering committee for DVA Charlotte, a nonpartisan group of women organizing to support the Charlotte in 2012 Host Committee for the Democratic National Convention, and previously chaired the board of Habitat for Humanity Charlotte. She plans to join HOC’s Advisory Council in 2013.

“Lisa’s impact on Hands On Charlotte is immeasurable and the board is incredibly grateful for her dedicated service,” said Collins. “Through her leadership and dedication, Hands On Charlotte has helped make Charlotte a national model for civic commitment and volunteer service.”

About Hands On Charlotte

Hands On Charlotte is a nonprofit volunteer service organization that promotes volunteerism and direct community service to meet Charlotte’s most critical needs. Hands On Charlotte’s mission is to strengthen our community and enrich lives by mobilizing a diverse corps of volunteers to strengthen our community. We help homeless families, guide at-risk youth, tutor disadvantaged children, feed the hungry, care for our environment and so much more.

Hands On Charlotte offers a variety of meaningful volunteer projects that benefits the citizens of Charlotte. We provide volunteers with flexible volunteer opportunities to create positive change. We simplify the process by organizing and promoting hundreds of volunteer opportunities to make community service accessible to all.

Founded in 1991, Hands On Charlotte is a charter member of the national HandsOn Network. Learn more at www.handsoncharlotte.org.

Volunteer Networking

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Spring signifies the winding down of the academic year.  As Charlotte -Mecklenburg students begin to prepare for spring break, teachers visit Classroom Central to pick up necessities for their students. 

This visit, I had the pleasure to assist Classroom Central with their bi-weekly teacher shopping experience. While this was not my first time volunteering at Classroom Central, it was a unique visit.

On this particular Thursday afternoon, Hands On Charlotte worked side by side with nine Wells Fargo employees. Classroom Central bustled with activity as the two organizations integrated in order to lend assistance to over 90 teachers. 

I enjoyed talking briefly to teachers as they checked out to learn about their day and their classrooms. Since this day was “slower” than my previous visit, I had the opportunity to network with Wells Fargo employees and HOC volunteers. Each volunteer had a unique story and what attracted him/her to Hands On Charlotte and or Classroom Central. It was a great opportunity to learn more about my community and yet another great volunteer experience to support education!

Leticia Foster

Volunteer

Hands On Charlotte

Visit Hands On Charlotte to learn more about volunteering with Classroom Central, as well as other ways to help Charlotte’s schools and educators.

Hands On Schools

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“You can make a difference” is the statement Sara Perez, an AmeriCorps member who works to connect volunteers with the educational needs of Charlotte.

Sara became involved with low-resource schools upon completing her undergraduate degree and joined AmeriCorps in Rhode Island. She began working with a program called City Year, serving as a peer mentor and full-time tutor at a middle school in Providence, Rhode Island. The experience  helped to quench her long term passion of youth development and education.

Upon finishing her year with AmeriCorps in Rhode Island, Sarah decided to serve another year and moved to Charlotte, where she became involved with Hands on Charlotte. Sara knows Hands on Charlotte shares her passion for assisting in youth development and education and feels being a part of Hands on Charlotte provides her “a unique opportunity to inspire and mobilize others to get involved in and help make a difference in our schools.”

This fall will provide Sara an opportunity to begin a Hands On Charlotte program she helped design. Family Nights at Albemarle Elementary School will provide free hot meals, educational services and clubs for students and family members of the community. Sara believes this initiative will lead to more community involvement with the school, better attendance for students and a more positive course performance with classes. Community organizations and faith-based groups will be collaborating with Hands On Charlotte to help provide family focused educational programs at the school.

Beyond helping to form the Family Nights program, Sara is also involved with other HOC volunteering opportunities, including Homework Hounds.

Hands on Charlotte is extremely grateful for all Sara Perez contributes to the community and would like to thank her and recognize her contributions. Thanks to her and  HOC volunteers, the community and educational needs of low-resource schools are receiving assistance to nourish the minds and lives of Charlotte’s youth.

Ryan Kamp

Communications Volunteer

Hands On Charlotte

Editors note: This is the fifth of five entries during National Volunteer Week. If you appreciate the work of Hands On Charlotte to enhance education in our community, please signify that appreciation by donating to our spring fundraising campaign.

Matching Skills to Charlotte’s Needs

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When Erica Butler moved to Charlotte last summer, she wanted to meet new friends and put some of her free time to good use. “I did a Google search for ‘volunteering in Charlotte’ and found Hands On Charlotte,” she said.

Erica was intrigued by HOC’s skills-based volunteer program, which matches specific interests and talents of volunteers with the needs of partner organizations in Charlotte. As a financial analyst, Erica was able to bring her database management experience and detail-oriented focus to the Community Development Department at Central Piedmont Community College.

CPCC had approached Hands On Charlotte for additional resources when, like many other educational institutions, the college lost staff positions due to budget reductions. Help was needed to coordinate the many volunteers who mentor CPCC students in the college’s GED program, draft newsletters to distribute to volunteers, and act as a liaison between volunteers and CPCC instructors.

Hands On Charlotte connected Erica with CPCC and she began her role in January. “It’s  really nice to see the whole picture,” she said of her volunteer responsibilities in the mentoring program. “It was a way to do something meaningful and I like being involved.”

Although the SBV position is a one-year commitment, Erica said the flexibility of being able to volunteer her time in the evening, while at home, is an ideal role for a busy schedule.

Erica said she has already developed a new friendship with the staff at CPCC and is looking forward to getting to know the mentoring program’s volunteers.

You can sustain HOC’s ability to activate skilled volunteers and match them with our community’s needs. Consider a donation to our spring giving campaign.

Mark Boone

Board Member & Communications Volunteer

Hands On Charlotte

All Hands Corporate Volunteering

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A child sitting in a Charlotte classroom right now could develop the next live-saving vaccine or technological breakthrough in communication.

That’s why employees at Time Warner Cable Media volunteer their time at Ashley Park PreK-8 School, encouraging students to take a greater interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

“Community is one of our core values,” said Ashley Davis, Vice President, Eastern Operations for TWCM. “We feel it is important to take an active role and effectively allocate our resources to make a positive impact in the communities we serve.”

Davis said the company’s leadership had been searching for opportunities to expand the company’s culture of service. But they weren’t sure how to design or manage a program that would get employee buy-in, while also incorporating a focus on increasing knowledge of STEM  subjects in schools. 

That’s where Hands On Charlotte came in.  HOC matched TWCM with Greater Enrichment Program, a provider of after-school programming for many CMS elementary schools in low-resource neighborhoods.  Then, HOC designed a year-long program that gave employees flexibility while providing fun science-related activities for children at Ashley Park.

Over the years, companies which partner with HOC have contributed millions of dollars’ worth of goods and services to our community via HOC’s All Hands corporate volunteering program. Corporate partners include The Home Depot, Neutrik USA, Altria,  Goodrich and Premier Healthcare Alliance. They all use Hands On Charlotte to help design and manage employee volunteer projects and programs.  HOC provides access to the management experience and the community connections needed to channel the time and talents of their employees to produce maximum impact. 

HOC is a leader and a problem solver when it comes to effectively allocating human capital, which is why we can be such a great value-added resource for volunteers, whether they are individuals or members of corporate teams.  When you donate to support the mission of Hands On Charlotte, you strengthen our capacity to build creative projects and programs that get the job done.

 Editors note: This is the third of five entries during National Volunteer Week.

Connecting Teens to Volunteering

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When Khelsi Smith’s grandmother told her about Hands on Charlotte, she thought it would be interesting to help. Khelsi very quickly became one of Hands On Charlotte’s most dedicated VolunTeens.  Attending Math Mentors at KIPP weekly, Khelsi immediately created strong, effective relationships with the students whom she mentored.

Khelsi is an 11th-grade student at Cato Middle College High School. In addition to being a full-time student and volunteering weekly at Math Mentors, Khelsi finds time to babysit regularly and also is active at her church.

“To me volunteering is very important, so it is enjoyable,” said Khelsi. “I wanted to make time for it. It was as if volunteering was a part of school.”

Khelsi said she wants to be an elementary education teacher one day and thought that Hands On Charlotte and Math Mentors would be a good assist for the career she wants. Utilizing her infectious smile and passion for learning, Khelsi was able to greatly impact all KIPPsters she worked with.   She served as tutor, mentor, and – most importantly – a positive role model to the students.

“What I liked about Math Mentors was that I was close to the kids’ ages so I could make a better connection to them and help them even more,” explained Khelsi.

But not only does she inspire students, she has impacted fellow volunteers! Khelsi has helped VolunTeens who were new to volunteering and tutoring by showing them the ropes and easing their “first tutoring session jitters.”

Khelsi was excited to add one more thing. “Hands On Charlotte is such a great program for anybody that wants to volunteer,” she said.

Tara Gudger

Board Member & Communications Volunteer

Hands On Charlotte

Editors note: This is the second of five entries during National Volunteer Week. If you appreciate the work of Hands On Charlotte to keep volunteer opportunities accessible to teens and families, please signify that appreciation by donating to our spring fundraising campaign.

Find your passion: HOC Flexible Calendar

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Choices, choices, choices, sometimes too many options can be overwhelming. For volunteering, Hands on Charlotte’s variety of volunteer projects provides limitless opportunities for volunteers to find their niche. Ashly Kirkpatrick is one of many HOC volunteers that has experienced this variety through attending more than 20 HOC projects since June 2011.

A three-year Charlottean, Ashly is a Lead Donor & Client Support Specialist with the American Red Cross in Charlotte. After a quick internet search for volunteering, Ashly located HOC’s website and was drawn in by the numerous opportunities to volunteer. “It makes it so much easier to volunteer. There’s something for everyone!”

Ashly began her HOC journey at CPCC’s Harris campus, tutoring adult students working toward attaining their G.E.D, “It was amazing to see the progress they made over the semester.”

Ashly decided to continue volunteering with HOC because, “Not only were the days and times a perfect fit for my schedule, but after my first project I felt like I really helped someone and it was just overall a rewarding experience. “Her favorite project so far is working with Hawthorne High School students. She explained, “I enjoy interacting with the students there and not only are they learning from me, but I learn something from them after every tutoring session.”

Ashly highlights, “HOC is a wonderful organization and it’s very easy to get started volunteering.” She encourages new volunteers to experience projects in multiple areas.  “I would just like to say thank you to everyone at HOC for giving me the opportunity to volunteer and making the entire process (from orientation to signing up for projects) so easy!” 

We thank Ashly and all of our HOC volunteers for their continued service. If you’d like to learn more about Hands on Charlotte’s many volunteer opportunities, visit us at http://www.handsoncharlotte.org/.

Carmen Silvia

Hands On Charlotte

Communications Volunteer

Editors note: This is the first of five entries during National Volunteer Week. If you appreciate the work of Hands On Charlotte to keep volunteer opportunities accessible to you and the entire community, please signify that appreciation by donating to our spring fundraising campaign.