By Kimberly Paulk, SHARECharlotte.com, a free, easy and local website that makes it easy to learn about and engage with our local nonprofits.
Is scheduling during the summer a challenge for you? It is for me. I find it crazy difficult to juggle my family’s priorities and get in anything that resembles summer fun at the same time.
One of the things that frequently falls by the wayside is keeping my family involved in philanthropy. I’m not alone. Loaves & Fishes reports that their donations drop dramatically in summer, even though that’s a time of great need for their clients. In fact, that’s the case for many of our local nonprofits. So they really need us to step up in the summer, just as I’m starting to slack off!
How can I fix that? This summer, I’ve got #summershareCLT to help me. (Full disclosure: I work at SHARE Charlotte, the local company spearheading this initiative. But I’d say the same thing even if I didn’t!)
Here’s the scoop.
For 2 weeks this summer everyone in Charlotte has the chance to “give need a vacation” by going to www.summershareclt.org. There you’ll find 49 local nonprofits who have listed their Top 3 critical needs. These are things they need right now to keep doing the great work they do.
Some of the items might not surprise you, but some may. At Allegro Foundation they need giant soft number cubes as a learning resource for the kids they teach. Charlotte Ballet could really use ballet shoes and leotards for kids. Community School of the Arts would love some musical jingle bells and violin cases.
But all that great program work requires a lot of behind the scenes action too. Copies need to be made and supplies need to be stored. So you’ll find items that will help nonprofits run their businesses as well. Digi-Bridge could use Post-it Wall Pads (which are actually also great for their students’ Minecraft strategy sessions), KinderMourn needs a cork board for displays and Loaves & Fishes could really use a folding table. All of these donations directly affect their bottom line.
My family’s plan is to grab the give jar, take a few minutes to look over summershareclt.org and shop! We can do it all – shop and ship – right from our kitchen table. This is my chance to continue our tradition of philanthropy – but in a new, fun way and during a time when it’s needed most.
What’s your family plan? You can get started by going to summershareCLT.org. (But don’t wait – the campaign ends July 26th!) With just a few minutes you can put giving back into your family’s summer.
