A reader asked how to help Charlotte nonprofits during COVID-19. Here’s what we found
Francesca Murphy lost her job in Charlotte as a hair stylist when salons closed up shops at the beginning of the COVID-19 quarantine in March. She and her 9-year-old son lived in Lake Arbor Apartments, which had been in the news for months due to code violations. With no income and bad living conditions, the family needed help.
Charlotte-based Community Link came to the rescue. The nonprofit found a new, affordable apartment for the mom and son and provided rental subsidies to help. The organization also coached her on budgeting strategies to enhance her savings. Murphy is now back at work and surviving on her own.
That’s just one of so many success stories coming out of our nonprofits. While the need for these critical services is only increasing, revenue for these nonprofits is becoming harder to find.
A CharlotteFive reader wrote to us wanting to help people like Murphy.
“As (a) middle-aged middle-class white guy, few people I know, and no one whom I’m close to, has been more than mildly inconvenienced by Coronavirus,” wrote Christopher Huntley. “But I am acutely aware, and deeply troubled by, the fact that I am not a representative sample. And I am heartbroken that I have neighbors who are losing their homes and hope and way of life — many, many more neighbors at imminent risk of losing those things.”
Huntley asked if we could write an article telling those who want to help, how to help.
“Part of the way I get to celebrate and demonstrate my faith is to give away a portion of my earnings, not just to my church but (primarily, in fact) to community organizations. So I’m not a complete stranger to the Charlotte nonprofit landscape. Certainly the marquee organizations. But at this moment, I’m having trouble wrapping my head around the most dire, most critical needs and who’s best situated to meet them.
“... A lot of children’s primary/sole source of consistent nutrition is school. But they’re not able to attend school. I know CMS had worked to get meals to these children over the summer. So, is that the most effective use of charitable giving? A direct donation to CMS? Or a food bank? If so, which one(s)? The moratoria on utility shut-offs and evictions are coming to an end. Crisis Assistance is a great organization to address this. But are there others? Virus is disproportionately affecting BIPoC; are there charities which are better positioned to assist (and ideally run and operated by) those communities?”
Good questions, Christopher, and thank you for asking. We rounded up a few of the Charlotte area nonprofits trying to help our neighbors during the coronavirus pandemic:
A Better World
How to help: Money, volunteer time.
There is no question that school-aged children have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. Seven months into the quarantine, most children who attend public schools are still learning remotely. There are several organizations trying to help.
A Better World is an after-school program for at-risk kids who live in troubled homes and neighborhoods. The organization started in 2001 to equip kids with the skills and confidence to be responsible adults.
“Before COVID, we provided free after-school to 65 kids in West Charlotte. We supply them with certified teachers that lesson plan and help them with homework, transportation to and from our program, licensed counselors on-site and a hot meal at the end of the day,” said Anthony Panciocco, communications and program director for A Better World.
Since the pandemic started, the afterschool program has gone virtual. The organization also expanded its mission a bit.
“We are delivering 200 meals per day to children and elderly community members via our partnership with Jim Noble. We are running a virtual after-school program from 3:30-5 p.m. daily that begins with a daily devotion, then breaks out into classes for lessons designed to supplement what our kids learned in school,” Panciocco said.
ANSWER Scholarship
How to help: Money, volunteer.
It’s not just kids who need help with their schoolwork right now.
ANSWER Scholarship is a group helping women who are raising school-aged children fulfill their own dreams of earning a college degree. The group provides scholarships, mentoring and professional development training to moms.
“As you can imagine, COVID-19 is affecting ANSWER moms,” said Susan Anderson, founder and CEO of ANSWER Scholarship. “Of our 19 moms in the class of 2020-21, three have contracted COVID-19. Half have reached out to us and our community partners for assistance with rent, food, childcare costs, children’s school supplies and other immediate needs. Job loss and reduction of hours have been key contributors to seeking this support. We have provided emergency educational grants to assist our moms with their tuition and books. We are also actively soliciting gift cards for groceries and gas for our scholars.”
Consuella Harge is an ANSWER Scholar. She never had trouble breathing until her pregnancy in 2014, when her lung collapsed. After catching the flu four years later, she needed a double lung transplant. Doctors performed that surgery last year. Now, Harge is a senior at UNC Charlotte, seeking a bachelor’s in mathematics with an actuarial science concentration. She plans to become an actuary upon graduation.
“ANSWER moms are tough and determined to complete their education despite all odds,” Anderson said.
Community Link
How to help: Money, volunteer, welcome baskets and luggage donations.
Community Link’s mission is to help families obtain and sustain safe, decent and affordable housing.
“Our mission is even more relevant during COVID-19,” said Floyd R. Davis Jr., president and CEO of Community Link. “We have added more staff positions to help people impacted by the pandemic get the resources they need to pay their rent and utilities. Scarcity of affordable housing is still a challenge in Charlotte and the 16 North Carolina counties where we work, so we are trying to keep people housed where they are. We anticipate eviction and foreclosure numbers will rise in coming months.”
Along with the financial damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there’s mental and emotional harm, as well.
“We are serving more customers who are survivors of domestic violence,” Davis said. “With everyone at home during the pandemic, including children, stress is high and we’re finding that incidents of domestic violence are increasing. Survivors of domestic violence need to find safe places to live quickly for themselves and their children.”
OneBlood
How to help: Give blood, money, hosting a drive
Hurricane Sally, which swept through the Gulf Coast states, created a critical need for blood because so many drives were canceled.
With September also being pediatric cancer awareness month, OneBlood organized a campaign called “Little Heroes” honoring or remembering kids who battled cancer. In the next week, there are 16 drives all across the Charlotte region. For every donation, OneBlood will donate $10 to the Isabella Santos Foundation, a group fighting to find cures for rare types of childhood cancer here in Charlotte.
Click here for locations and to sign up.
Full disclosure: Shawn Flynn organized the “Little Heroes” blood drive campaign to help support pediatric cancer patients.
Project Scientist
Much like A Better World, Project Scientist also had to pivot to virtual learning. The organization hopes to expose a diverse population of young girls, ages 4-12, to a high-quality STEM academy.
“Project Scientist has taken a financial hit from COVID-19,” Project Scientist founder and CEO Sandy Marshall said. “We had to cancel our fundraisers, and our revenue from programming has dropped, as some families are no longer able to fund discretionary activities. But our mission to turn a diverse array of girls onto STEM is even more important now, during a pandemic. We are nurturing today’s future scientists who will lead the world in solving tomorrow’s greatest challenges.”
By switching to remote learning, the Charlotte-based group is able to reach young girls across the country. They’re now looking to offer more girls scholarships for this fall and spring.
“My daughter was a Project Scientist scholar and later a summer STEM academy volunteer. She’s graduating high school this year and will attend UNC Charlotte’s Passport program to study biomedical engineering, Cassandra Suber said. “Because of Project Scientist, she was able to know with clarity and pursue with confidence a career in science.”
The fall semester begins Oct. 14, but the organization needs parents to register their girls by Oct. 1.
Finding your nonprofit
Share Charlotte is a one-stop shop to find and connect you with nonprofits providing critical services. The organization is also feeling the struggles of its partner groups during the pandemic.
“COVID-19 has forced every nonprofit to reimagine how they interact with the people they serve, their volunteers and their donors,” said Julie Campbell, nonprofit partnership director for Share Charlotte. “Those who can best adapt to this mostly virtual, uncertain environment will be the ones who are likely to sustain their work. We continue to be most impressed with the resilience of our nonprofit community and their dedication to serve their constituents regardless of the barriers and obstacles they encounter.”
Share Charlotte has a nonprofit finder where you can insert information based on demographics, clients served, types of resources and more. You can easily search what you’re passionate about and find a nonprofit that matches your interests to help others — or your needs for services.
