Volunteering takes many forms. It has diverse motivations and creates different results.
In all respects volunteering makes a difference.
Mint Hill is a town of volunteers making good change in the world around them locally, nationally, and internationally, with individuals and on grand scales, inspired by humanity, loved ones, or their faith. Continue reading »
New Beginnings Community Church gave away gas for 334 cars on Good Friday. Cars lined up on Idlewild Road and Margaret Wallace Road for $15 in gas at the corner Sonoco. In all, the church spent $5160 in gas. It also gave away free water and popcorn. Funding was provided by the church and its members.
The gas event’s brainchild, senior pastor Michael Henderson, was out of town, but his wife and church executive minister, Twanna Henderson, was present. She is affectionately referred to as First Lady.
The Armed Forces Museum & Archives of the Carolinas have a new set of board members. The group voted last month at its regular meeting at the Mint Hill Town Hall. The museum and archive will be constructed next to the North Carolina Korean War Veterans Memorial at the Park on Fairview.
AFMAC is a a 501(c)(3) entity that will honor, preserve and celebrate freedom. This world-class museum, scheduled to break ground in 2014, will be unique in that it will honor all five branches of the United States military: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard. When completed, visitors will experience an educational showcase of 250 years of military history combined with the home front support and sacrifices that have made our nation great. Details and donation information can be seen at VisitAFMAC.org.
TODAY Show reporter, Sara Haines, interviews co-founder and volunteer executive director, Amy Cervantes, as young volunteers prepare supplies for a Bright Blessings celebration
A producer with NBC’s TODAY Show has confirmed that a special segment about local nonprofit, Bright Blessings, is scheduled to air next Wednesday, July 13, during the 10 am hour of the TODAY Show.
This past February, a TODAY team was in Charlotte to interview and film for the feature segment about Matthews-based Bright Blessings, a volunteer-led nonprofit serving homeless children and families across the greater Charlotte region.
Amy and John Cervantes, founders of Bright Blessings, are Mint Hill residents. Continue reading »
Chad Hannon was named the Union West Rotary Club Chad president for the coming year.
“I joined Rotary back in 2009 with hopes of being able to contribute to our community,” he said. “I am looking forward to the next stage in my life and being President of Rotary. My goal in life is to help as many people as I can and impact their life in a positive way.”
Outgoing President Maureen Mulhall began the June 23 meeting with remarks about her tenure.
“It has been an honor to serve Union West Rotary and our community. I am delighted to welcome Chad Hannon as the new President and look forward to working with him and our new board,” said Mulhall.
Union West Rotary meets every Thursday morning at 7:30 am at the Indian Trail Civic Building. This 42 member service club strives to make a positive difference in the lives of others and support the community through various activities such as sponsoring literacy programs at Union West Library, supplying dictionaries to the local schools, and more recently, donating $50,000 to the Town of Indian Trail sponsoring the pavilion in their new park. For more information about Union West Rotary visit www.rotaryclubofunionwest.org.
Blessed Assurance Adult Day Care participated in IBM’s celebration of 100 years as a company on June 11 and 15. More than 75 employees from IBM in Charlotte contributed at 26 area non-profits in the region. As a part of this celebration, Melanie A. Tindley, Systems Availability Leader at IBM, reached out to Nate Huggins and Blessed Assurance and arranged for Senior Development Manager, Gary Brooks and Senior Software Engineer, John W. Medlin to conduct a complete technology inventory, comprehensive security audit and a total analysis and maintenance of the computer lab. Additionally, Tindley and Sammie Allam, Sales and Distribution Executive, prepped and painted several offices.
The Kirton family of Waxhaw display the finished gift sets they created for local homeless children (L to R): Savannah, Braxton, and mom, Crystal.
The organizers of the new North Carolina Korean War Veterans Memorial in Mint Hill held a Korean Appreciation Day at the Park on Fairview Sunday. More than 300 tuned out for the event which was an appreciation for the Korean communities in Charlotte and the South for helping to finance the new memorial. Don Putnam, president of the Korean War veterans association chapter which spearheaded the effort to build the memorial, received at check for $56,244 from the Consul General of The Republic of Korean based in Atlanta, GA on behalf of the Republic of Korea government.
The crowd heard speeches from Mint Hill Mayor Ted Biggers, North Carolina Representative Bill Brawley, Putnam and Bill Reid of the NCKWVA. Speeches were also made by several prominent Koreans from the Southeast including Hae Jin Chun, Consul General of The Republic of Korea; Sang Kun Park, President of Korean Associations, Southeast; and Jin Chul Yu of The Federation of Korean Associations, U.S.
“I am Korean by birth,” Yu told the audience, “but I am also a flag waving American.”
Attendees enjoyed a Korean traditional dancing, martial arts demonstrations, traditional Korean cuisine, and hot dogs. Korean American women, dressed in traditional clothes, laid a wreath at the memorial.
The folks who are putting together Discover Mint Hill this year have just about finalized plans. The event explores the culture and history in the town and will be held April 16 from 9 am to 3 pm at “Discovery Square,” which is at the intersection of Bain School Road and Matthews-Mint Hill Road.
Monarch Mortgage of Mint Hill is sponsoring a Treasure Hunt for cash prizes. “Explorers” can follow their treasure map to the booths at “Discovery Square.” Collect a sticker from each booth to enter the drawings.
So what can you expect this year? Continue reading »
Mayor Ted Biggers has been a supporter of the Levine Senior Center since it opened five years ago.
Mint Hill Mayor Ted Biggers participated in the Levine Senior Center’s 3rd Annual Rock-a-thon this past Saturday. The Levine Senior Center raised more than $12,000 in this fundraising event. Ted Biggers, Jim Taylor (Matthew mayor) and Lynda Paxton (Stallings mayor) were challenged to see who would raise the most money for the center and be declared the “Mayor who Rocks”. Lynda Paxton was not able to attend so the challenge is between Ted Biggers and Jim Taylor. The winner of the challenge will be announced today.
This is the new layout of the Matthews location.
Birthday Blessings is getting a name change and a new local facility. The nonprofit organization which was started to provide birthday parties for homeless children, will become Bright Blessings USA and will move its headquarters to Matthews.
The name change was a “strategic decision by the organization and its Board of Directors with twofold purpose: To better convey the breadth of the nonprofit’s programs and services which have evolved significantly since its founding; and to provide a unique and trademarked brand for the planned official launch of the organization’s National Affiliate Network.”
“It’s amazing to see how the Charlotte community has wrapped itself around this organization, helping it grow to where it is today,” says Amy Cervantes, volunteer executive director and co-founder. “John and I are constantly humbled by how much Bright Blessings has expanded and how many lives are being impacted as a result. Our community is truly remarkable.”
Amy and John are Mint Hill residents.
This spring the organization will open the doors to its new facility in Matthews, The Giving Village, a concept inspired by the nonprofit’s founding goal of providing relevant, hands-on volunteer opportunities for children—and people of all ages—in a safe, comfortable and uplifting environment. The nearly 4,000 square foot facility located at 608-A Matthews-Mint Hill Road will be home to the Bright Blessings programs and its supporting projects, and will host hundreds of volunteers and visitors monthly. Each aspect of the organization and its program services will be brought to life in the form of a small town operated by its “villagers”—a community of volunteers. Facility details and layout are available online at www.BrightBlessingsUSA.org
Habitat Matthews and Weaver, Bennett & Bland,P.A. have entered into a partnership that will net the non-profit 15 computers. Weaver, Bennett & Bland,P.A are getting a new set of 15 computers and will donate their few-years-old CPUs to Habitat. “The partners at the firm have a strong desire to keep the computers in the community, so they thought that Habitat and our families would be the perfect fit,” a press release from Habitat said.
Habitat also has hopes of expanding its ReStore and office, allowing them to serve more families and be a greater presence in the community. The computer donations from W, B & B would provide Habitat homeowners with computers at the office. In addition, they have agreed to letting affiliate sell the computers at a significantly discounted rate to families. As a result, the funds that Habitat raises can go directly back to our homebuilding program so they can provide for more families in the community.
Queen’s Grant students created this video for Special Olympics last year as a project that coincided with Project Unify, a national project developed by U.S. Dept. of Education to activate young people around the country in fostering respectful behaviors and promoting dignity within their schools for all students. Continue reading »
