DECEMBER 2025

Hello Neighbors,

As we wrap up an extraordinary season of giving, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our community. Your generosity during our Thanksgiving and December Holiday campaign was nothing short of inspiring! We more than doubled our fundraising goal - which means that we were able to give more than planned to the families who need our support this year. And the abundance of food donated through various drives and events was a true blessing!

The reality is that the need in our community that was once hidden is now in full view. Pantry requests, aside from our holiday giving, have more than doubled in the past year. This means we need to keep restocking our shelves, packing and distributing orders, and spreading the word about our organization so those in need are aware of the assistance that is available. Every contribution and every hour worked keeps our mission moving.

Thank you for being the heart of this work. Over the past five years since our founding, we have provided over $700,000 in direct assistance to families right here in Ballantyne. That impact is yours.

Thank you for making the holidays brighter for our neighbors. Wishing you a happy holiday season!

🍂 2025 HOLIDAY GIVING DRIVE UPDATE 🍂

We are proud to report that we collected enough food to fill nearly 500 bags and $47,000 for gift cards - which is more than double what we originally hoped to raise! Because you gave more, we were able to give the following:

🎄 112 local families received for the Thanksgiving event:

High School: $250 grocery gift card
Elementary and Middle School: $175 grocery gift card plus 3 bags of food

🎄 118 local families will receive this Friday for the December Holidays event:

High School: $350 grocery gift card
Elementary and Middle School: $275 grocery gift card plus 3 bags of food

Each family also received holiday napkins, encouraging notes written by people from the community, and a resource guide for additional social services.

Thank you for your kindness!

Jen Smith and Kristine Walski, Holiday Giving Drive Co-Chairs

PANTRY NEWS

This past month we completed 120 pantry shops, which was 4X more than the requests at this time last year! We have completed 294 shops since the start of this school year, compared to 121 the year before. The number of families that we serve and the frequency of shops continue to rise.

Because of the increase in orders, we have added 3 volunteer driving spots per week. To help, you must be registered as a volunteer with CMS and be able to lift and carry bags of food into schools. The bags are already packed and will be loaded into your vehicle for delivery to one or two area schools. Sign up to help here.

You can also help us keep our shelves stocked by purchasing items from our Amazon Wish List.

Help Spread the Word! If you know someone who could benefit from the pantry who attends or works at a Ballantyne school, please have them reach out to their school counselor to get set up for help.

📣 Addition to the Pantry Team:

Due to the increase in pantry activity, we are excited to keep adding to our management team!

PARTNERSHIPS / FOOD DRIVES

👏 Thank you to Speedway Children’s Charities, who awarded BFHNIN a grant to help support our mission. Their mission is to help children in need and we are proud to work together towards that goal.

👏 Thank you to the following groups who held food drives or raised money to help stock our pantry this past month:

Ardrey Kell Girls in Charlotte collected feminine hygiene products.
Families4Families club (with students from Charlotte Latin) collected food and toiletries.
Ardrey Neighborhood collected money and food at their annual Jingle Jog.
T180 Personal Fitness for Women held a food drive.
Knightsview Elementary held a food drive.
Ballantyne Ridge SGA held a food drive.
Novant Pharmacy Department held a food drive.
Girl Scout Troop #318 put together 18 Birthday Bags.
Udasin Family donated 9 Birthday Bags.

👏 If you are part of Community House Middle School, be on the lookout for information about their Cav Crew fundraiser event to benefit BFHNIN, which is being held December 8-15.

Food drives are important to keep our pantry well stocked. If you or a group you belong to would like to hold a food drive, please reach out to lauren@ballantynefamilies.org.

Volunteer Opportunity: Help families in need celebrate a birthday! This is a perfect way for scout troops, church groups, school clubs, and others to contribute by building Birthday Bags that include all supplies needed to bake a cake and celebrate! For more information click here or email lauren@ballantynefamilies.org.

VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

Congratulations to Jeff Jones, our Volunteer of the Month. Jeff and his family started the Annual Jingle Jog 5K in the Ardrey neighborhood in 2020, when many local Thanksgiving 5Ks were cancelled because of Covid. They agreed that helping local families would be the goal of the event and felt that BFHNIN was the obvious partner! Since its inception, participants in the Ardrey Jingle Jog 5K have donated over $10,000 and countless bags of food to stock BFHNIN's pantry.

"The Jingle Jog has become one of my favorite family and neighborhood holiday traditions, and it feels great to help families in our area by partnering with Ballantyne Families Helping Neighbors in Need."

WHAT'S NEXT

December 12, 2025 - Deliver Winter Break support for families
January 2026 - Counselor/Social Worker survey to identify families in need of support for Spring and Summer breaks

REMINDERS & REQUESTS

❄️If your company provides matching donations and you have given to BFHNIN this year, please don’t forget to make a request. Every dollar counts and 95%+ is given directly to families in need.

❄️ You can donate food this holiday season at Ice Skating at the Ballantyne Bowl. Look for the bins next to concessions. This special event runs through January 4, 2026.

❄️Help replenish our pantry after the holidays through our Amazon Wish List

❄️ Volunteer in our pantry.

❄️ Pass along our Resource Guide to anyone in need.

DONATE

AMAZON WISHLIST

WORDS OF THANKS

"Thank you so much for the blessings that you all provided for my family. This holiday will be joyous because of your kindness, support and contribution. I am truly grateful for your support!"

I am truly grateful for the unmeasured support that I am receiving from the school and Ballantyne Families! My heart was so overjoyed yesterday that I cried. I simply cannot put my appreciation into words. All I can say is, with an appreciative heart, "THANK YOU!"

"Words can not express my heartfelt gratitude for the help you have given myself and my family. To know my kids will not have to worry about how they will eat is a true blessing."

You are making a difference!

14023 Lissadell Circle
Charlotte, North Carolina 28277
USA

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