One Woman’s Vision Unites Her City Through Good
Giving back to your community made a little easier
You want to do good in your community, but don’t know where to start?
Five years ago, Kelly Brooks was in the same boat. She looked around at the vast number of non-profit organizations and volunteer opportunities in her large southern city and was overwhelmed. She knew there had to be a way to make it easier to connect.
So, drawing on her years as NASCAR marketing director, she did what she does best….she started creating relationships and partnerships with Charlotte nonprofits. Her idea was to create a platform where the Charlotte community could easily engage with local nonprofits.
“I decided that if I was having a hard time figuring out how to navigate the local nonprofit scene, then other people probably were too,” Brooks said. “My idea for SHARE Charlotte is for it to be a local one-stop shop for the community to find ways to plug in and make an impact.”
SHARE Charlotte’s website launched in December 2012 with 87 nonprofit partners. Today, SHARE Charlotte includes more than 440 nonprofits, all of them serving Mecklenburg County.
In addition to providing an easy-to-use platform for community engagement, SHARE offers nonprofits skills workshops, networking, and collaboration opportunities.
One of the most prominent collaborations is the annual giving campaign: #GivingTuesdayCLT.
In 2014, Brooks and SHARE Charlotte saw the Giving Tuesday movement as a way to unify local nonprofits and rally the community around a common goal … Doing Good.
This year’s #GivingTuesdayCLT, runs Nov. 14-28 with more than 230 nonprofit partners. SHARE Charlotte hopes to inspire the community to raise $10 million dollars for these local organizations
“We were all blown away after last year’s campaign,” Brooks said. “To see our city rally together around something so positive was truly inspirational.”
“When SHARE Charlotte began in 2012, I don’t think we could have predicted a movement like #GivingTuesdayCLT,” Brooks continued “It is certainly an indication the people of our community care and want to Do Good to make Charlotte better for everyone.”
Inspired by SHARE Charlotte? Want to find volunteer opportunities near you? Check out Neighborhood Of Good, search by your zip code and volunteer away!
