Charlotte Area Fund ignites Community Youth Development Summit at 2019 NBA All Star Week
Charlotte Area Fund partnered with NBA Retired Players Association to present the 2019 Community Youth Development Summit during the NBA All Star week that reached over 700 students at three high schools and Johnson C. Smith University. NBA Legends, CAF, and community leaders including Mecklenburg County Sheriff, Gary McFadden embarked on two day summit of motivational talks regarding leadership, bullying, and career development. The series of youth events also featured a premier screening of NBA All Star Steph Curry’s executive produced film “Jumpshot" at Spirit Square.
View photos from the Community Youth Development Summit
Watch Community Youth Development Summit Video
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Seniors Celebrating Black History Month
Last month, our Senior Assistance Program celebrated Black History Month by sharing their own personal history stories. Participants brought in various artifacts such as 200 year old silverware, a hand crafted cane, real cotton and other signification items passed down from generations. We concluded the event by singing The Black National Anthem by James Weldon Johnson.
Our onsite Senior Assistance Program provides workshops to assist in improving the overall health of seniors 55+ within their financial budget. The most recent enhancement to this program is our partnership with The Connect Center, to provide our seniors with low-cost or free prescription medications.
The Connect Center was specifically founded to provide valuable community training and support services for seniors and families. The Connect Center support system is a true life line for those that we serve that find it difficult to connect with programs and services needed for everyday life. We are excited to collaborate with the Connect Center to collectively serve our community.
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Luster's SCurl Pop Up Barbershop Donates To CAF During NBA All Star
Lusters SCurl created and hosted a PopUp Barbershop at the Walmart Superstore on North Tryon that provided free haircuts by national designer barbers and featured present and past NBA stars such as Charlotte Hornets, Malik Monk and NBA Legends Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell and Artis Gilmore. Partial proceeds from the two day event were donated to the Charlotte Area Fund.
Watch the video of the Luster's SCurl Pop Up event.
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Client Success Highlights
Great things are happening at Charlotte Area Fund. Here are just a few of our recent client achievements.
- Welcome our inaugural Charlotte Area Fund / Charlotte Housing Authority Property Management Apprenticeship program. These dedicated clients excelled in the CPCC Property Management course and will begin an 8 weeks paid apprenticeship working under direct supervision of experienced CHA Property Managers to prepare for a career in property management.
- Five graduates from our Customer Service Class, offered in partnership with Grace Mar have received job offers with the minimum hourly wage of $14.50. The Customer Service and Sales curriculum is designed to help entry-level sales and service associates learn skills related to frontline work in retail (or any industry that values customer service and sales skills).
- Four of our participants have passed the Fiber Optics exam needed to receive the Certified Premise Cabling Technicians (CPCT) credentials. Soon they will sit for the Fiber Optic Technician (FOT) exam to earn credentials accredited by the Fiber Option Association (FOA).
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Community Accelerators launched to reduce poverty in Mecklenburg County
At December’s Annual Business Luncheon, the Dorothy Counts Scoggins Community Accelerator Partnerships was launched. The partnership opportunity will strategically leverage $1million CSBG resources to increase capacity and services of organizations dedicated to serving Mecklenburg County residents living at or below 125% federal poverty guidelines. Applications were accepted through February 26, 2019. Numerous submissions have been received exceeding requests of $2 million. We look forward to announcing awards in April/ May.
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CAF President and CEO receives inaugural Awards in recognition of Community Involvement
Congratulations to Nick Wharton, CAF President and CEO for receiving the inaugural Commitment to Service Award from the Charlotte Hornets. This award is for leaders who show a great commitment to our community. Nick will also be receiving the Leading On Opportunity- Inaugural Opportunity Champion Award on March 26, 2019. This distinguished award seeks to recognize a group of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Opportunity Champions who through words and action stepped in – going above and beyond – to support implementation or align to 1 or more of the 21 LOO community-inspired strategies since the release of the Opportunity Task Force Report.
Read more about our new President & CEO.
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CAF Represented in Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade
Charlotte Area Fund President & CEO Nicholas Wharton, had the distinct pleasure of being the official driver of Congresswoman Alma Adams in the 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade. The above photo was captured at the McCrory YMCA MLK Breakfast.
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Charlotte Area Fund Hosts January Champions Meeting
The Charlotte Area Fund welcomed the Women’s Inter-Cultural Exchange (WIE) Champions in January as they spotlighted Cops & Barbers, an organization dedicated to establishing relationships between police and the community they serve for understanding and sustainable community growth. "There’s no greater strategic asset to community action than a partnership that establishes greater trust across race, class, and gender among Charlotte’s opinion leaders" says Nicholas Wharton, Co-Chair WIE Champions.
The WIE Champions comprises a group of over 100 diverse men who support the mission of The Women's Inter-Cultural Exchange, an organization that builds social capital among women of diverse cultures and want to extend the community dialogue to other men in Charlotte. Together, they examine and discuss racial fears embedded in work interactions, education, and public policy and the impact that erodes cross-cultural trust. Each month, the WIE Champions highlight a grassroots organization that is making a difference in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community.
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Information Session
March 26, 2019 10AM-12PM
Learn more about our upcoming tuition free training programs.
RSVP
Charlotte Area Fund Community Action Week
June 17-19, 2019
Join us for a week of Community Action. The week will include open house tours of our building renovations, 2019 Self Sufficiency Graduation and a Community Action Health Fair offering free mobile health care services.
Community Building Initiative Bus Tour: What's in the Ground?
Wednesday, June 19, 2019 | 7:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Click here for details.
2019 CAPLAW National Training Conference
June 19-21, 2019
Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. (CAPLAW) will be hosting their annual conference in Charlotte June 19-21, 2019.
Click here for more information.
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The Charlotte Area Fund, a private non-profit, is Mecklenburg County’s designated community action agency primarily funded through the federal Community Service Block Grant (CSBG). The purpose of the agency is to combat poverty by assisting low-income individuals and families with becoming self-sufficient. Charlotte Area Fund provides workforce development, comprehensive case management and senior assistance services to residents of Mecklenburg County.
Since 1963, CAF has initiated and provided a variety of programs and services to serve low income individuals. Community action changes people’s lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves communities and makes America a better place to live. We care about the entire community and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other.
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