Join us in congratulating our SEED20 Class of 2020 OnLine winners!

Wells Fargo People’s Choice Grand Prize $20,000 | Transforming Youth Movement 

2nd Place Prize $7,500 | Feeding Charlotte

3rd Place Prize $2,500 | Project2Heal 

Coaches’ Award $1,000 | Prospera North Carolina

SEED20 Community Vote $1,000 | Project2Heal

And some additional great news,  through the generosity of Social Venture Partners Charlotte, every nonprofit member of the class of 2020 will receive a cash award. If they did not win another award, all semi-finalists will receive $250 and all finalists will receive $500.

Congratulations to the award winners and the entire SEED20 Class of 2020, whose flexibility, innovation and community impact continue to inspire!  We are thrilled to welcome them into our family of SEED20 Alumni!

The March 31st virtual event will be complete with hosts, recognition of sponsors, introduction to the SEED20 Class of 2020 and the heart of the show — the three minute pitches by the finalists. Audience voting will take place from the comfort of the ticket holders’ own homes and computers. We are excited for you to watch at 7pm EDT on March 31st, however we recognize your lives have been disrupted in many ways, so will extend the viewing and voting window by 48 hours until Thursday, April 2nd at 7pm.  Only ticket holders will have the opportunity to view the SEED20 OnLine event (or recording) and be given the ability to cast a vote for the Wells Fargo Grand Prize.

A Message to Current SEED20 OnLine Ticket Holders

As ticket holders, you will receive additional information on how to access the OnLine event and cast your vote.  With our overarching goal of connecting the community to our region’s most innovative ideas for tackling pressing social challenges, we will plan a celebratory reception later this year.  As SEED20 ticket holders, you will be invited and encouraged to attend and engage with the Class of 2020, enjoy food and beverages, and potentially hear the winning pitches live. If you have been to SEED20 before, you know the networking and community engagement are key components to making SEED20 so impactful, so you will understand why a live event is essential!  We will provide more information on this celebratory event as our planning proceeds.

We want to thank you for buying your ticket and please know that every ticket purchase has already enabled so much benefit to our Class of 2020 over the last four months. We’ve produced introductory videos for each participant, provided customized professional headshots, shared their introductions via blogs and social posts, and coached our nonprofit participants on their storytelling abilities to craft and deliver compelling and succinct messages about who they are and what they do. We depend on ticket sales to not only pay for these important programmatic benefits, but also fund our prize money! 

Due to the shift to an OnLine event, the cost of your ticket is now considered a tax deductible donation. We hope you will consider treating your purchase as a donation rather than requesting a refund so that we can reward our nonprofit participants for the hard work they have put into the program and so we can all continue to serve in this time of need. To maintain our prize money distribution, any refunds must be requested of the Blumenthal (704-372-1000) before noon on Friday, March 27th.

Purchase your tickets to the OnLine Event!

You still have time to purchase your SEED20 OnLine event tickets!  As SEED20 ticket holders, you will be able to view the OnLine program and cast a vote to decide the winner of Wells Fargo’s People’s Choice Grand Prize.  You will also be invited and encouraged to attend a celebration later this year to engage with the Class of 2020, enjoy food and beverages, and potentially hear the winning pitches live.  Only ticket holders will have the opportunity to view the SEED20 OnLine event (or recording) and be given the ability to cast a vote for the Wells Fargo Grand Prize. Due to the shift to an OnLine event, the cost of your ticket is now considered a tax deductible donation.

Purchase your ticket here!

]]> https://www.seed20.org/onstage_updates_2020/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=onstage_updates_2020 Fri, 13 Mar 2020 21:40:20 +0000 https://edk.wgr.mybluehost.me/?p=5743 Our Social Venture Partners Board of Directors and our SEED20 Steering Committee recognize the need to do our part in prioritizing public health and containment of the Coronavirus. In weighing the best options against the impact to the nonprofit participants and community, we decided to proactively curtail our March 31st SEED20 OnStage event to eliminate the large gathering at the recommendation of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Our goal is to award the more than $40,000 in prize money to the winning organizations as planned. As such, the show must go on, albeit in a livestream format!

March 31 – Virtual Event 

We will be producing a virtual event in lieu of a live audience program. It will be complete with Hosts, recognition of sponsors, introductions of the 20 participants and the heart of the show, the pitches by the ten finalists. Audience voting will take place from the comfort of the ticket holders’ own homes and computers. Ticket holders will receive additional information on how to access the live stream event and cast their vote.

Date to Be Determined 2020 – Live SEED20 Celebration

With our overarching goal of connecting the community to our region’s most innovative ideas for tackling pressing social challenges, we will plan a celebratory reception later this year. SEED20 ticket holders will be invited and encouraged to attend and engage with all 20 participants, enjoy food and beverages, and potentially hear the winning pitches live. If you have been to SEED20 before, you know the networking and community engagement are key components to making SEED20 so impactful, so you will understand why a live event is essential! We will provide more information on this event as our planning proceeds.

Tickets are still available!

If you are interested in supporting our program and would like the opportunity to join in the virtual event and cast your vote for the Wells Fargo People’s Choice Grand Prize, we invite (and encourage) you to buy a ticket here. This ticket would also include access to the live SEED20 Celebration later this year.

Seed20 OnStage Ticketholders

We greatly appreciate your commitment to SEED20 through your ticket purchase. Your support has already enabled so much benefit to our Class of 2020 over the last four months. We’ve produced introductory videos for each participant, provided customized professional headshots, shared their introductions via blogs and social posts, and coached them on their storytelling abilities. We do understand that you purchased tickets for a live March 31 event, and our new plan may not meet your original expectations. In the spirit of supporting the nonprofits, we encourage your engagement with our modified program, however, the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center is available to support you with refund requests if needed at 704-372-1000.

We thank you kindly for your support of our program and this difficult decision.

The ten finalists presenting for a chance to win the cash prizes are:

Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation

Representative: John Searby

Feeding Charlotte

Representative: Kim Aprill

iSpeak Now

Representative: Yolanda Trotman

The Lotus Campaign

Representative: Beth Silverman

Mind Body Baby NC

Representative: Cynthia Wood

Mooresville Soup Kitchen

Representative: Brittany Holbert

Project2Heal

Representative: Charlie Petrizzo

She Built This City

Representative: Demi Knight Clark

Transforming Youth Movement

Representative: Reginald McNeil

Vision to Learn

Representative: Queen Smalls

The Community Vote is YOUR opportunity to support your favorite organization in the #SEED20 Class of 2020! 

Influence change in Charlotte by helping a nonprofit win $1000 to further pursue their mission! Click the link below to cast your vote once daily until March 30th!

The class member with the most votes will be presented with the 2020 Community Vote Award and $1,000 toward bringing their work to life! 

To vote, visit SEED20.org/vote.

Representative: Katherine Noto

Developmental trauma may negatively impact a child’s emotional, psychological, and physical health throughout childhood and adulthood. Attach Families provides foster and adoptive families with the specialized knowledge and training to understand developmental trauma and how to recognize signs and symptoms, and also help children heal from it by providing access to neurofeedback treatment for trauma.

How did your organization start?

Three of the most beautiful children I had ever seen walked in my door and in one minute I was a mom of three. As time went by, I was noticing issues they each had like rage, self-harm, and breaking things. We were sent for medication management and talk therapy. I felt isolated, alone and like a failure. I had my own assessment done and I found out their brains were not developed properly. I couldn’t imagine another parent feeling as isolated and alone as I felt and from that calling, Attach Families was born.

From where does your passion for this cause come?

Attach Families has become my life. Opening this nonprofit organization was not a choice but truly a calling. These children can be healed. Instead, we shuffle them from home to home increasing the attachment disorders and only offering meds and talk therapy. Neurofeedback, which has proven to make a huge difference in these children’s lives is not covered by insurance, and often too expensive for families to afford it. Children deserve a chance to heal.

Why is your work so important?

Neurofeedback for children in foster care or adopted from foster care will help stop adoption disruptions, as well as children from placement to placement because of severe behaviors. Having a staff member at all PRTFs providing Neurofeedback would also CHANGE LIVES. Without proper treatment these children age out and most turn to drugs and crime. I truly believe that if we put the effort in now we will help save lives and families, cut down on future crime, drug use, arrests and prison sentences.

What excites you most about the SEED20 process?

Bringing awareness to the truth that so many families are living and educating society that we can change lives. The behaviors of these children can destroy families, disrupt adoptions, and move the child from placement to placement until they age out and become society’s problem. Families who foster and adopt children with severe trauma live more like prison guards than parents and we can change it!  We can change lives and save children and families!

What do you hope to gain from the SEED20 experience?

I hope to receive the proper coaching to help me pitch my idea to funders so I can help as many families as possible. I want to help keep families together, and help children in foster care get adopted. The process all starts with getting them the proper treatment from day one. I hope to one day be able to help fund more therapists to become trained in Neurofeedback and to purchase the equipment and have a Neurofeedback therapist at every PRTF. I hope it will help my mission gain awareness.

attachfamilies.org

Facebook: @attachfamiliesinc

Instagram: @attachfamilies

Twitter: @AttachFamilies

Be a part of the SEED20 audience! Tickets on sale now.

Representative: John Searby

The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation educates and advocates to protect the Catawba-Wateree River Basin for all who depend on and enjoy it. An experienced network of diverse community members, engaged volunteers and professional staff provides dedicated talent and resources to protect and enhance our river today and for future generations. The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation employs three key tactics: Education, Engagement and Protection.

How did your organization start?

In 1997, an intrepid group of people concerned about the health of the Catawba-Wateree River combined forces and created the Catawba RIVERKEEPER Foundation (CRF). With the financial support of the Lake Norman and Lake Wylie Marine Commissions and a license from WATERKEEPER ALLIANCE, CRF came into fruition and began its programmatic work in education, advocacy and protection. For 22 years we have been the voice of the people on behalf of the river.

From where does your passion for this cause come?

Our family lives on Lake Wylie and we have always done our best to protect the waters we live on, kayak on, swim in, and fish in, not only for ourselves but for our neighbors as well. I took the Executive Director position after 20 years in the for profit world to get my personal passions and my professional work aligned on a day to day basis. I want EVERYONE in the Charlotte region to understand where their water comes from and why it is so important to protect and preserve it.

Why is your work so important?

Over 2 million people get their drinking water from the Catawba River and nearly 3 million people get their electricity from a power plant that depends on the Catawba River. Water is one of THE ONLY things that unifies people in the world today and we believe that the work we do not only protects this life giving resource, but also has the ability to bring diverse people from all over the Charlotte region together.

What excites you most about the SEED20 process?

I have always been an entrepreneurial person, but for the past 20 years I’ve been using that skill to build teams and lead for profit organizations. I am excited to test some of the entrepreneurial ideas I have for the nonprofit world with peers and coaches during their process.

What do you hope to gain from the SEED20 experience?

I hope to gain more and deeper connections in the Charlotte region-both for profit and nonprofit. I hope to better understand how to communicate our value proposition to the world. And, of course, I hope to win some funding for our projects!

www.catawbariverkeeper.org

Facebook: @CatawbaRiverkeeper

Instagram: @catawbariverkeeper

Twitter: @CRFRiverkeeper

Be a part of the SEED20 audience! Tickets on sale now.

Representative: Henry Rock

City Startup Labs aims to create a skilled class of entrepreneurs among the formerly incarcerated while exploring how entrepreneurship can be a tool of restorative justice for communities in need of reconciliation and returnees needing to have trust restored. Entrepreneurship can be twenty-first century workforce development for returning citizens who build businesses and create new wealth within these communities.

How did your organization start?

City Startup Labs grew out of the gem of an idea to conduct an entrepreneur’s boot camp for ex-gang members and the formerly incarcerated in Newark, NJ in the mid-2000s. Having been left out of the conversation about what the face of the entrepreneur ought to be, CSL was launched in 2014 to develop entrepreneurial talent and capacity among young black men.

From where does your passion for this cause come?

Frankly, who has been more marginalized vilified or demonized than young, black men or the formerly incarcerated (returning citizens)? The idea of reimagining black men as a new class of entrepreneurs was due to my work with and being mentored by committed black media and ad agency entrepreneurs. I was able to see up close the value of what entrepreneurship can mean specifically for the black community and the country more broadly.

Why is your work so important?

Each month over 100 people come back home to the CharMeck area from state prisons, often back to communities that continue to experience harm from economic disparities and despair to unresolved patterns of neglect and crime. CSL wants to foster these returning citizens’ enterprising spirit and capacity for innovation by creating a new class of entrepreneurs who can play a key role in stimulating economic vitality within these communities.

What excites you most about the SEED20 process?

The thing that excites me most is the opportunity and possibility of having such an amazing platform to champion the work of CSL’s ReEntry Entrepreneurship Program (REEP) and its mission to stimulate, develop and deploy the business building capabilities of our returning citizens for theirs and our economic benefit.

What do you hope to gain from the SEED20 experience?

I imagine that SEED20 will afford me tremendous coaching in crafting and delivering an exceptional message regarding our work. It will also be a vehicle for meeting potential primed supporters of the City Startup Labs effort. This SEED20 experience will also allow me to establish relationships with 19 other amazingly dedicated social change agents.

www.citystartuplabs.com

Facebook: @citystartuplabs

Instagram: @citystartuplabs

Twitter: @citystartuplabs

Be a part of the SEED20 audience! Tickets on sale now.

Representative: Natalie Marles

El Puente Hispano’s mission is to connect and integrate the Hispanic community in Cabarrus by providing information, education, resources and guidance to foster self-sufficiency and productivity. All El Puente Hispano programs are free and include a diverse range of classes for adults and children and programs focusing on connecting the Latino community to local government and agencies.

How did your organization start?

El Puente Hispano was created in 2017, when a group of Latino professionals from different sectors, aware of the needs and struggles of the Latino community in Cabarrus County, decided to work together to create a nonprofit organization to help Latinos in the county. We are a working board and use our knowledge of the community and work expertise to create initiatives that promote equity and progress and that help strengthen families in our community.

From where does your passion for this cause come?

We have worked with the Latino community in Cabarrus for many years and have seen firsthand the needs and struggles they face. But even more importantly, we know that this is a resilient community that faces adversity with courage and determination. A community with a fractured heart, for leaving their homeland and families behind, but with the will to succeed in a foreign land, looking for a better future for themselves and their children. We want to help them reach that dream.

Why is your work so important?

El Puente Hispano is the only agency serving the Latino community in Cabarrus, and we have many programs aimed to help them succeed. For example, many Latino parents do not speak English and are unable to help their kid with their homework. With our tutoring classes, we work with these children on their reading and math to help them catch up to their peers. We are also helping to bridge the communication gap between the Latino community and local agencies to promote inclusion.

What excites you most about the SEED20 process?

I heard amazing things about the program and the learning opportunities offered. I’m excited to represent this organization and create awareness for the many struggles that the immigrant community is facing at this moment. It goes beyond a political ambivalence or media highlights. I believe it is a great opportunity to show the roots of the immigrant’s families, their stories, their challenges, and the resilience of a community that many times has been misjudged and unappreciated.

What do you hope to gain from the SEED20 experience?

I learned that every experience is a learning opportunity that life gives you. My hope with SEED20 is to experience everything that the program offers, to meet wonderful people, which I believe are doing amazing things for this community, and being able to be a voice for my county and the people that we serve. Also, I hope to do a great job and make an impact on someone’s life! I want to create awareness about the challenges we face, and get assistance that we need.

www.elpuentehispanonc.org

Facebook: @elpuentehispano

Instagram: @elpuentehispano

Twitter: @puentehispano

Be a part of the SEED20 audience! Tickets on sale now.

Representative: Ryan McGill

The mission of Emerge is to develop Charlotte’s youth into confident, powerful, and compassionate leaders. The focus of Emerge is to teach students “leadership in life” skills through the practice of martial arts. Through martial arts, meditation, and project-based leadership training, Emerge teaches the tools needed to prepare and expand the development of Charlotte’s youth for the challenges they face in their lives.

How did your organization start?

During a run for City Council, I had the opportunity to speak with and learn from many people here is Charlotte. One noticeable challenge we face in Charlotte was confirmed repeatedly in my conversations: a distinct need for youth programming that is dynamic, engaging, uplifting and challenging to our young citizens. Many of these types of activities come at a high price tag. An average cost for lessons is $120 a month. Parents have no choice and few options, and many of our children miss out.

From where does your passion for this cause come?

My passion comes from life experiences; my 30-plus years of study in the martial arts, my ongoing military service spanning three branches (Navy, Marines and now the Army), and my education focusing on international affairs, leadership and nonprofit management. I am fueled by an insatiable drive to better the lives of people in the world around me. The potential to transform the possibility of our world begins with our children, and they deserve every opportunity to succeed in that endeavor.

Why is your work so important?

Our work is essential because it takes life skills such as bully prevention, self control, and self discipline that are practiced on the mats, repetitively and with a mindful purpose—and puts those tools to use off of the mats, in the community, for the benefit of self, others, the city, and the world.

What excites you most about the SEED20 process?

The opportunity to learn from great minds, use that knowledge to build my program, and grow as a person in this journey to be of service to the families of Charlotte.

What do you hope to gain from the SEED20 experience?

I hope to build new relationships with the other extraordinary individuals who have taken on the challenge of building a resilient city. I look forward to learning and growing from those relationships and I dream for the ability to provide the study of martial arts to any family whose child wants to learn.

www.emergecharlotte.com 

Facebook: @CharlotteEmerge

Instagram: @CharlotteEmerge

Twitter: @EmergeCharlotte

Be a part of the SEED20 audience! Tickets on sale now.

Representative: Kim Aprill

Feeding Charlotte strives to relieve hunger while reducing waste by connecting surplus, freshly prepared meals with members of our community experiencing food insecurity. This is accomplished through partnerships with restaurants, institutions and caterers that have leftover fresh meals, which are then delivered to local nonprofits that feed our hungry neighbors in Charlotte.

How did your organization start?

Feeding Charlotte got started with a simple conversation among friends who were looking to improve the lives of their fellow Charlotteans. After learning about food rescue organizations in other cities, we started researching how and why they began. During the course of this research we discovered Food Connection, located in Asheville, NC. We were given the opportunity to train with them, and a few months later we became Food Connection Charlotte, a chapter of the Asheville organization.

From where does your passion for this cause come?

Growing up my mother ran a food pantry and often I would tag along to help out. It broke my heart to see people obviously very hungry and desperate for a way to keep their families and themselves healthy and full. I went to graduate school to become a social worker so that I could dedicate my life to helping those who do not have the abundant resources that I have been provided with throughout my life. I strive to teach my children to care for others as well.

Why is your work so important?

This work is extremely important for two reasons. First, we are in the midst of a climate crisis. 40% of all food produced in the US is wasted. When food rots in landfills it releases methane, a greenhouse gas which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says is 20 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide. Second, 35% of all households with children in Mecklenburg County are food insecure. There is not a lack of food, there is a food distribution problem.

What excites you most about the SEED20 process?

I am most excited about learning to tell the Feeding Charlotte story in the most passionate, effective way possible. I have always wanted to become a more emboldened, concise public speaker. The opportunity to go through this process will be invaluable.

What do you hope to gain from the SEED20 experience?

I hope to gain a network of professionals and investors from whom I can draw expertise, resources and ideas. Most important, however, will be to educate the Charlotte community on food waste, food rescue and food insecurity in Charlotte and around the country. I hope to influence and excite others to participate in food rescue both at home and on a larger scale through institutions. Together we can distribute our food supply so that no one has to go hungry.

www.feedingcharlotte.org

Facebook: @feedingcharlotte

Instagram: @feedingcharlotte

Twitter: @feedingclt

Be a part of the SEED20 audience! Tickets on sale now.