Giving

In only a few hours, several assembly lines of volunteers can pack enough food to feed hungry children for months.

It takes hundreds of volunteers to make Bright Blessings run smoothly.

Almost 20 years ago, two Cabarrus County doctors wanted to help people who needed medical care but had no insurance.

The more Dona M. Patterson worked with families, the more she realized that an office wasn't always the best place for counseling them.

Cabarrus CARES formed in 2003, the same year textile giant Pillowtex Corp. declared bankruptcy and left more than 10,000 people unemployed throughout and beyond Cabarrus County. Just weeks after that, the Cabarrus Coalition of Animal Rescue Efforts and Services began its first project: a pet food pantry.

After Cindy Summers survived a harrowing bout with breast cancer, she was determined to "start something."

When three professional organizers from Charlotte met at a conference in 2004, the conversation turned to a common issue of what to do with the things that homeowners got rid of as their houses were organized.