Tag Archives: Hands On Charlotte

125 Days of Service

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UntitledMarch marks yet another historic month for Hands on Charlotte.  This month, HOC has partnered with Belk in celebration of the company’s 125th anniversary. This is a notable milestone, not only for the Charlotte-based retailer, but also for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community. In celebration of this milestone, Belk employees are participating in the single largest corporate partnership in HOC’s history.

Now you might be thinking to yourself… “How did this partnership originate?”  Well that is a great question which I’m happy to answer. Hands On Charlotte is a charter member of the national HandsOn Network, which is operated by Points of Light (POL), the largest global organization focused on volunteer service. POL partners with thousands of nonprofits and corporations to facilitate community engagement.

Belk wanted to commemorate its anniversary by engaging its employees in not just a day of service, but a day for every year of business. To create this momentous event, Belk reached out to Points of Light for their expertise.  The result of this partnership is Belk’s 125 Days of Service, which gives all of the retailer’s 23,000 associates the opportunity to improve conditions at more than 250 Title I schools in low-income communities across Belk’s 16-state footprint.

As the HandsOn Network affiliate in Belk’s home region, Hands On Charlotte is managing 125 Days of Service projects for Belk associates in area stores, and for those in the corporate office. The kickoff, held on March 11, featured CEO Tim Belk and over 130 of his colleagues completing improvement projects at two Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools.  Belk employees will also volunteer with schools in several other North Carolina cities, including Gastonia, Concord and Raleigh.

Hands On Charlotte is a established nonprofit organization that continues to provide the key connection between corporations and the community. As a HOC volunteer, it is great to see such a notable corporation recognize HOC’s presence within the community.  This partnership continues to validate my enthusiasm for supporting all of HOC’s efforts and initiatives to maintain Charlotte’s strong community connection.

Leticia Foster
Communications Volunteer
Hands On Charlotte

Learn more about Belk’s 125 Days of Service.

Learn more about Hands On Charlotte.

A Man Falls in a Hole

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I never watched an episode of the West Wing but saw this scene once and loved it.  This story became my favorite about helping others.  (link to youtube)

“This guy is walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can’t get out.

A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, ‘Hey you. Can you help me out?’ The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on.

Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, ‘Father, I’m down in this hole. Can you help me out?’ The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on.

Then a friend walks by: ‘Hey, Joe, it’s me. Can you help me out?’ And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, ‘Are you stupid? Now we’re both down here.’ The friend says, ‘Yeah, but I’ve been down here before, and I know the way out.’” 

I liked to tell this story to groups when I worked for Charlotte Rescue Mission because it relates well to helping those with addictions. The hole can represent many of life’s challenges.

Sometimes it’s easy to ask for help, more often it is not. Sometimes you don’t even know you need help until someone jumps down into the hole with you.

Many times  I’ve tried to be the person helping a friend but more times than I’d like to admit I’ve been the man in the hole.  The friend who jumped down to help was always my father. He would say something like, “I may not know all the answers but I know there’s nothing we can’t overcome together.” It always helped. On January 12, 2013 my father lost his battle with cancer. Fortunately, I’ve found several other friends willing to jump down and help me.

We all have the ability to be that friend. You don’t have to know the answers, sometimes just being there shows a person in crisis that you care and that can make all the difference in the world.

2 DougsThis post is dedicated to Doug Macomb Sr. father of HOC’s program Director, Doug Macomb. Doug Sr. was an active volunteer with Habitat for Humanity of Brunswick County, Wounded Warrior Project and Southport-Oak Island Food Pantry. He also volunteered many times for HOC special events.

New Leadership

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The Board of Directors of Hands On Charlotte recently elected new officers and added five new members to the board of the Charlotte nonprofit.

Sasha Trosch, executive director of external relations for the Belk College of Business at UNC Charlotte, is the new board chair. Mark Kutny, an attorney with Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin, PLLC is vice chair. Jane Bufkin, P&L and risk control analyst at Bank of America, is secretary and Gaston Wilson, a CPA in private practice, continues his role as treasurer.

New members elected to the Board of Directors are:

• Allyson Pyeritz Colaco, non-profit fundraising consultant;

• Keith Cradle, adolescent program manager, Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office;

• Dawn Fisher, compensation consultant, Wells Fargo;

• Melisa LaVergne, community volunteer;

• Matthew Robertson, special counsel, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP; and

• Mark Schuler, managing director, Accenture

“Our new board members bring a wealth of knowledge and talent to Hands On Charlotte,” said Eric Law, executive director. “These appointments reflect HOC’s commitment to finding the very best leaders to guide the organization’s continued growth and service to the community.”

About Hands On Charlotte

Hands On Charlotte (www.handsoncharlotte.org) is a nonprofit volunteer service organization,founded in 1991, that promotes volunteerism and direct community service to meet Charlotte’s most critical needs. HOC’s mission is to inspire, equip and mobilize a diverse corps of volunteers to strengthen our community. Working with more than 100 non-profit partner agencies, HOC volunteers provided more than 35,000 hours of service in 2012. Hands On Charlotte is a charter member of the HandsOn Network, an international, innovative alliance of volunteer organizations working to build community through service and civic engagement.

Family Day at the Bechtler Museum

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One couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. Not only did we have a lovely spring day in January, but we also participated in Family Day at the Bechtler museum.

The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art hosted a fun filled day which included museum tours and arts activities for children under the age of 18.  Shortly after noon, the museum bustled with children’s excitement to let their imagination run wild. Hands On Charlotte was asked to facilitate one of the arts activities for students.  Families could choose to participate in a scavenger hunt, water color still life, oil portrait drawing, and/or pipe cleaning sculptures.  For my time, I volunteered to help children make their own sculpture.

One of the Bechtler’s featured collections is Giacometti: Memory and Presence. The collection features one of the most recognized modernist artist in the 20th century. Giacometti was known for evoking emotion through sculpture, paintings, prints and drawings to name a few.  As an activity, the Bechtler wanted children to emulate Giacometti’s process of creating sculptures.

It was great to see the creativity among the children with just two pipe cleaners, play doh and tin foil. The bustle in the video gallery influenced some of the parents to create their own sculpture!  I loved the variety of sculptures and the interaction with each individual. It was interesting to hear some of the children’s reasons for their sculpture and the questions asked.  I can’t capture all of the sculptures. Let’s just say no two creations were alike!

If you didn’t have the opportunity to participate this month, there will be another opportunity on February 5th.

Leticia Foster
Communications Volunteer
Hands On Charlotte

Celebrating Dr. King through Service

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Let the countdown begin! Tomorrow is the MLK Call to Service presented by Hands On Charlotte. In previous years, Hands On Charlotte has hosted a fun filled day of community service projects on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. This year, we changed not only the day but the structure to meet community’s growing enthusiasm. Tomorrow, Saturday, January 19 we will host a day of service at not one…two… but THREE Mecklenburg locations.

From 10am-2pm, HOC will convene at three Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools: Blythe Elementary School, East Mecklenburg High School and Harding University High School.  At each school, one can help sort donated clothing for Crisis Assistance Ministry, wrap books for Promising Pages, and/or stuff pencil packages for Classroom Central. Kids of all ages can let their creative energy flow while making greeting cards for Friendship Trays.

Last year, I had the privilege of helping Crisis Assistance Ministries with the Poverty Simulation.  It was a touching experience. Not only did I have the opportunity to interact with the organization but also learned so much about the constituents within my local community.  I was so moved by interaction that I continued couldn’t stop spreading the word.

Come out and kick off your 2013 resolutions with service to the Charlotte community. No need to sign up to attend. Just stop by and lend your community an hour or two of your time.  If you are lucky, you might catch up with Charlotte’s local blogger from Pure & Simple Organizing or win a US Airways gift card.

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  See you on Saturday!

Leticia Foster
Communications Volunteer
Hands On Charlotte

New Year, New Opportunities

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As I step out of room 2012 and into room 2013, I realize that I will never be able to enter the room of 2012 again and will only be left with the memories of what once was. I look ahead in to the new room that awaits me, and I am excited for the possibilities that lie ahead in the next year I will spend in this room.

Like many others, I walk into the room with goals that I want to turn the room into. There are things I want to see, windows I want to open, things I want to create and people I want to help. I know that like most everyone, there is not a regret from the last year that too much time was spent helping others, but there is always a little something in everyone’s minds that wishes they would have done a little more to help the less fortunate.

Hands On Charlotte has a room for 2013. There is space for you and everyone you know to pay a visit and return often. Hands On Charlotte partners with more than 100 nonprofit organizations to organize groups of people and serve the needs of the less fortunate through various volunteer activities.

Hands On Charlotte’s goal is to recruit thousands of visitors in the month of January, and for those people to become regular givers to the needs of those that don’t always have the fortunes of everyone else. A great opportunity to become involved or reconnect with Hands On Charlotte is on Saturday January 19th. This is the day set for the Martin Luther King Call to Service.

Every year Hands On Charlotte unites people to spend this day giving to the community through various non-profit groups to honor Dr. King’s legacy. This year the activities will be spread through three locations and will involve many young people through various school programs. I challenge you to step forward in the first part of the year and be an example for young people. The locations are East Mecklenburg High School, Harding University High and Blythe Elementary School. These are drop in locations with various activities ranging from organizing donated food and clothing, creating video messages for troops overseas, wrapping books for children living in shelters and many others.

Let’s all start the year off with a shelf in our room that displays what we have done for others. Even if many won’t be able to see the shelf, it will be something that you can look upon throughout the year as something you are proud of. You will smile to yourself and know all of the lives you touched. That is something that will be with you for the rest of your life, the time you decided to start helping others more. That small amount of time out of our lives can help to make a world of difference in a life we will never know. Think of how good it will feel to know that in some small way you are helping 2013 to start off better for a complete stranger. I look forward to seeing you at one of these locations and spend a few hours with you to change lives forever.

“It takes a noble man to plant a seed for a tree that will some day give shade to people he may never meet.”  – D. Elton Trueblood

Ryan Kamp
Communications Volunteer
Hands On Charlotte

 

 

Out of Office: Volunteering with your workplace

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What do corporate employees and volunteerism have in common? Loyalty.  Corporate volunteerism provides employees with a sense of loyalty to the community. From a business perspective, corporate volunteerism provides a commitment to the local community. Hands On Charlotte helps to promote this type of partnership through its All Hands projects. This partnership creates a steadfast loyalty program that engages corporate entities with the local community.

Over the years, I’ve noticed small groups with company shirts at various projects.  The individuals are huddled as a group ready to take on the day’s task.  I must say the individuals always have a smile, rain or shine. Many times, when I inquire about the individual’s involvement, he/she proudly discusses their company’s mission to give back to the community.  Each conversation’s tone is not filled with dread because it is a forced responsibility, but one of enthusiasm.  Employees are enthusiastic not because it is time out of the office, but it allows them to refocus their skills to helping others.  Furthermore, the partnership allows for the individual to proudly represent his/her company, which is a clear reflection on the company’s culture.

A recent example of the positive impact of corporate volunteerism was an All Hands project with Premier, Inc. The company carved out a portion of their annual all-employee conference to focus on corporate citizenship.   The opportunity allowed more than 1100 Premier employees to interact with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community through multiple service projects. 1100 employees! You might say to yourself, “my company is not that large so therefore I cannot participate.” Well, that is not the case.

On November 10, 2012, HOC worked with just over 75 legal professionals for the annual Service Juris Day. Although this project is not considered an “All Hands” corporate project, it is indicative of volunteer opportunities for those companies which have a smaller employee base, including law firms of all sizes.  Hands On Charlotte’s program structure allows for flexibility with employers of all sizes to facilitate impactful community engagement with employees.

Not only are All Hands projects a way to leverage the diverse talents of employees in a efficient manner, but the financial support of HOC’s corporate partners enable the day-to-day offering of volunteer opportunities for individuals who are then able to engage in volunteerism as their personal schedules allow.

It may be daunting for employers to initiate a year-long employee volunteer program. Hands On Charlotte facilitate the process by acting as a project manager and matching the skills of volunteers with the needs of our community.

Thank you to all of our 2012 All Hands Project volunteers. We appreciate your time, dedication and efforts to improve our community. Your efforts do not go unnoticed.

Learn more about Hands On Charlotte’s All Hands projects.

Leticia Foster

Hands On Charlotte

Communications Volunteer

Where a child (and their parent) meets the village

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Kindergarten isn’t what it used to be. Or, it isn’t what I remember it to be.

I recently discovered this as I struggle to keep up with my eldest son’s social calendar, school fundraisers, class projects, extracurricular activities and homework. He’s five years old, a kindergartner. An 8-hour school day followed by homework!?

The kindergarten I remember was comprised of circle time, free play time and naps. The school day was four hours long.

I have no doubt the reading and writing skills my son is honing early in his education will help him succeed well into high school and beyond. My wife and I are very pleased with his teacher and the public school he is attending.

But Kindergarten has been an eye-opener on just how involved a parent must be in their child’s education. All too often, students do not have the full support of their family. Educators believe the lack of parental support is a key reason why nearly 20% of all North Carolina students don’t graduate from high school.

When parents are struggling to provide basic needs for their children, like food and shelter, it’s easy to understand why they may not be focused on what’s happening at their child’s school. Language barriers also isolate parents from their school communities.

Hands On Charlotte, along with several partner agencies, is working to eliminate these hurdles and engage more parents in their child’s education through a new initiative, the Coalition for Albemarle Road Elementary School (CARES). The coalition opens the school on two evenings each month and invites adults and children to come to the school for a free dinner. The meal is followed by educational clubs for students and life-skills classes for parents, including Healthy Living, English as a Second Language (ESL) and CMS Parent University. CARES also provides childcare for younger children.

CARES borrowed the Family Night concept from a similar program at McClintock Middle School. Since its inception in 2007, McClintock Partners in Education (McPIE) has seen a decrease in student absenteeism and higher scores on standardized tests. Like CARES, the efforts at McClintock are a collaborative effort involving a church, the neighborhood and the school’s faculty and staff.  

Educational achievement is only one measurement of success for Family Night. Kamille Pickens, one of three AmeriCorps VISTA members who help Hands On Charlotte manage the CARES initiative, said instructors have given parents some potentially life-changing advice: a mother who was able to get a scholarship from the Susan G. Komen Foundation to pay for a mammogram after finding a lump in her breast, and several ESL families who learned their rights when stopped by law enforcement, clearing up some common misconceptions.

Through these relationships and by establishing networks of support, volunteers can help children succeed in school and improve the lives of their families. It’s an investment of time and money. Grants from the City of Charlotte, the Teen Impact Fund and the Annie E. Casey Foundation help cover expenses, including meals, program materials and childcare providers. Donations from individuals and partner agencies will be crucial for sustaining the Family Night program.

Opportunities abound for volunteers who wish to bolster the work of Charlotte’s educators in other ways. Hands On Charlotte’s project calendar includes several tutoring and mentoring events every month, through partnerships with Central Piedmont Community College and several Mecklenburg non-profit agencies.

When our community shares its talent, time and resources, every child has the ability to succeed in school and establish a foundation for a successful life.

Mark Boone

Board Member and Communications Volunteer

Hands On Charlottte

Shopping for a cause

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Bargain shoppers are expected to form a long line outside this years highly anticipated Plato’s Closet/Once Upon A Child: Grab Bag Event.

The recycled retail store will be hosting their annual fashion event where shoppers can fill a grab bag (provided by the store) with clearance items for $15. This year, Plato’s Closet/Once Upon a Child will be donating all event proceeds to local nonprofit agency, Hands On Charlotte (HOC). 

Hands On Charlotte is a nonprofit volunteer service organization founded in 1991. Our mission is to inspire, equip and mobilize a diverse corps of volunteers to strengthen our community. Throughout the year, Hands On Charlotte (HOC) works with more than 100 partner agencies to offer a variety of flexible volunteer opportunities to create positive change. HOC volunteers help homeless families, guide at-risk youth, tutor disadvantaged children, feed the hungry, care for our environment and so much more. Please visit www.handsoncharlotte.org for more information. 

The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on September 8 at the Plato’s Closet Matthews location, 9623 E Independence Blvd, Matthews, NC. 

Not only will shoppers save hundreds of dollars on discounted clothing and accessories, but they will also be shopping for a cause. 

“All of us at Hands On Charlotte are so grateful to Plato’s Closet for choosing HOC to benefit from this Grab Bag Event,” said Hands On Charlotte Executive Director Eric Law. “This support will help us provide even more opportunities for volunteers to give their time and talent to address our community’s most critical needs.”

Are you interested in volunteering for the event? Individual and group, opportunities are still available. Those interested can view the registration details online by visiting http://www.handsoncharlotte.org 

Lauren Gilbertson

Special Events Volunteer

Hands On Charlotte

Arts Ambassadors

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Saturday, April 29was a cloudy day, but that did not stop Charlotte residents from visiting local artists at the third annual Kings Drive Art Walk. The festival allows Charlotteans to interact with art, music and crafts in a family friendly environment. Hands On Charlotte volunteers supported the event, and HOC set up an information booth where our members greeted festival vistors. This was my first time volunteering for the festival and it was truly a pleasure.

As I worked side by side with my fellow Marking and Communications Committee (MACC) member, I was able to share my HOC experiences with other festival participants.  Some participants were new to the area and unfamiliar with HOC’s efforts, while others were “experts” with the organization. 

Exposing residents to HOC’s mission and values allowed me to reflect on how I was introduced to Hands On Charlotte.  I was referred to Hands On Charlotte through a colleague.  I wanted to continue my commitment to the community, but I was unsure with which organization I should start. Hands On Charlotte allowed me to volunteer with organizations based on my interest with flexibility and ease.

I will share three additional highlights from my two-hour shift:

  1. I was able to interact with a friendly Dachshund who is a committed HOC Volunteer at our Pet Visits Projects.  Super Cute!
  2. A CMS student who had a passion for cooking approached HOC’s booth.  The young student shared not only his passion for cooking but helping others. It was truly inspiring and encouraging.
  3. The enthusiasm for the HOC’s Sprint for Service event, held this summer.

As with every volunteer experience, it was a delight to be amongst such talented individuals and represent HOC!

Leticia Foster

MACC Member and HOC Volunteer

Editors note: Hands On Charlotte volunteers support the arts community in many ways, such as donating their time to help with area festivals. HOC will offer volunteer opportunities at Festival in the Park this September, a sister event to the King’s Drive Art Walk held in April.