Project Outpour

MaShonna Hughes

Project Outpour provides free mobile shower access and hygiene services to individuals who are moving through homelessness. The Project Outpour staff are passionate about helping our neighbors in need. The services Project Outpour provides are crucial because they foster dignity; the dignity that comes with being and feeling clean is a human right, and a need that every person desires and deserves to have met.

Despierta

Juliana Lozano

Despierta addresses the critical lack of access to culturally competent mental health care and social support for Latinas in the Charlotte area. Many Latinas face significant barriers, such as language access, financial limitations, and lack of awareness about available services, that prevent them from seeking mental health support. By providing counseling, educational workshops, support groups, and cohort-based programs, Despierta helps participants foster resilience, navigate challenges, and thrive.  

Next Step Clubhouse

Meg Kelly

Next Step Clubhouse (NSC) provides a facility for individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to meet regularly and foster meaningful relationships with their peers and community. NSC’s programming assists its members in combating isolation and sedentary lifestyles by promoting healthy living, fostering friendships and giving back to the community. NSC assist caregivers through cost-conscious fees and by developing skills that promote self-sufficiency.

Transit First CLT

Barry Greene Jr

Transit First CLT addresses Charlotte’s overwhelming car dependency, which leads to traffic congestion, environmental degradation, and inequitable access to transportation. Charlotte’s sprawling development prioritizes cars, leaving residents without access to vehicles struggling to move around efficiently. Transit First Charlotte prioritizes boosting bus frequency, building dedicated bike and bus lanes, expanding transit access for all, and breaking the stigma around public transportation for a more connected, sustainable future. 

The Election Hub

Sucharita Kodali

The Election Hub is a free, non-partisan resource that empowers voters with unbiased information about statewide and local races, using social media, community partnerships, a website, podcasts, videos, events, and local media. By making it easier to research candidates and understand issues, the Hub combats misinformation, promotes democratic participation and helps hold public officials accountable, ensuring voters can make informed choices that strengthen transparency and trust in government.

Katie Blessing Center

Amber Tracewell

Each month, on average there are over 150 children in Mecklenburg County and the surrounding areas awaiting beds for mental health treatment. The Katie Blessing Center is a 72–bed behavioral health facility in Charlotte serving children ages 5-17 and is the largest facility of its kind in North Carolina. This facility will provide access to life–saving treatments for children, cutting the monthly bed shortage by close to 50%. 

S.T.A.R.S. Math and English Academy

Elijah Watson

The S.T.A.R.S. Summer Institute will prevent summer learning loss by providing a free research-based and engaging summer camp for 50 students rising to 3-9 grades. The Summer Institute offers language arts and math enrichment, soft skills and exposure programs such as culinary arts, coding, taekwondo, weekly educational or recreational field trips, and breakfast and lunch. The Summer Institute builds self-confidence and encourages teamwork. 

Kika’s House

Kika Jackson

West Charlotte faces disproportionately high rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. These health issues can be exacerbated by financial stress due to low income, poor credit and lack of financial literacy. Kika’s House addresses these intertwined health and financial issues by offering an integrated “Fight for Your Life” program that combines physical fitness, nutrition and financial literacy education designed to overcome these challenges.

Upcycle Arts

Angela Kollmer

Creative supplies are expensive for artists, schools and organizations while large amounts of unwanted arts and crafts supplies go unused or to the landfill because there is no way to recycle them. Upcycle Arts addresses both problems with its creative reuse center that connects unwanted supplies with those who can use them. Upcycle Arts also provides education on the creative, environmental and economic power of reuse.