NOVEMBER 2025

Hello Neighbors,

What an incredible show of kindness and community spirit! Thanks to your overwhelming generosity, our Thanksgiving and December Holiday Giving Drive was the most successful in the history of our organization. You can read the amazing details below.

This year’s support means more than ever. With the suspension of SNAP benefits related to the government shutdown and ongoing economic uncertainty, the number of Ballantyne families facing food insecurity continues to grow. Our organization has seen an increase of 111% pantry requests over this time last year!

I am so grateful for the compassion and commitment that this community continues to show every season. You have proven that neighbors helping neighbors can overcome even the toughest challenges!

**We’ve collected the food and financial donations - but we’re not done yet! We need more volunteers to help us deliver bags of food to schools on November 19 and December 12. If you can help, please sign up here.

I wish you and your loved ones a Thanksgiving filled with blessings and gratitude.

🍂 2025 HOLIDAY GIVING DRIVE 🍂

🎉 We raised over $46,000 - exceeding our goal by 230%! 🎉

Included in this number is a jaw-dropping $10,000 donation from an anonymous donor, which has allowed us to double the value of the gift cards that we can provide to the 117 local families who need our support. What a blessing!

Because of your generosity, we are able to provide each family with the following for their Thanksgiving meals:

🦃 3 bags of non-perishable food items + $175 grocery gift cards (Elementary/Middle)

🦃 $250 in grocery gift cards (High School)

🦃 Thanksgiving napkins

🦃 Encouraging notes from the community

🦃 Resource Guide for additional social services

Thank you to everyone who made donations, participated in food drives, bought gift cards, and helped pack and sort donations. You can view a slide show of photos here. Thank you also to the following organizations and schools for your efforts:

Brighthouse Financial employees donated 281 food bags and $4,250 in cash and gift cards, wrote encouraging notes and volunteered in the pantry. We treasure your ongoing support!

Rea Farms STEAM Academy, Elon Park Elementary, Ardrey Kell High School, and Community House Middle School National Junior Honor Society collected holiday bags of food and gift cards. Thank you!

After the Thanksgiving distribution, we will shift our focus to preparing December holiday food bags and gift cards. We need more volunteers to help us deliver bags of food to schools on November 19 and December 12. If you can help, please sign up here.

With gratitude,

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

PANTRY UPDATE

In October our pantry shops more than doubled from the previous month to 112, which is evidence of the growing need for food support in our community. Thanks to our volunteers and donors, order fulfillment went without a hitch.

This month the pantry team is focused on preparing and distributing the Thanksgiving distribution in addition to our normal weekly pantry requests.

If you’d like to help in the pantry, we have added more time slots to our Sign Up Genius due to the increased volume.

Our biggest food and hygiene needs this month are:

Canned chicken and tuna
Canned pasta sauce
Beef stew
Pasta (any type)
Cake and Brownie mix
Applesauce cups
Feminine pads
Men and women's deodorant
Toothpaste

*You can purchase these items from our Amazon Wish List.

Additions to Our Pantry Team

As our volume increases, we are excited to welcome several new additions to the pantry team!

PARTNERSHIPS / FOOD DRIVES

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

Ardrey Kell Men’s Soccer held a JV vs. Varsity food drive challenge and raised over $2000 - it was close but JV edged out Varsity by $20 for the win!
Leah Dranove, a student at Miller Street Dance Academy, held a food drive that focused on breakfast food.
Uplevel Martial Arts held a food drive.
Ardrey Kell Technology Student Association donated $1,000, aligning with their theme of “Unity with Community”.
Ms. Cheek's 2-year old class at Harrison United Methodist Preschool collected bags of food to stock the pantry.
Ballantyne Elementary held a food drive.
Polo Ridge Elementary held a food drive.

Thank you also to The Albemarle Foundation for awarding BFHNIN the $2,500 "Providing for Families - Fall 2025" grant.

👀 Please look for these food drives in November and show your support:

Knights View Elementary
Ardrey Neighborhood Jingle Jog
T180 Personal Fitness for Women

If you or a group you belong to would like to hold a food drive, please reach out to lauren@ballantynefamilies.org.

WHAT'S NEXT

November 19, 2025 - Deliver Thanksgiving support to schools
November 22, 2025 - January 4, 2026 - Donate food at Ice Skating at the Bowl
December 5, 2025 - Winter-themed paper napkins due
December 5, 2025 - December holiday giving encouraging notes due
December 12, 2025 - Deliver Winter Break support for families

VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

Congratulations to JILL LECLAIR for being named Volunteer of the Month! Jill started volunteering with BFHNIN last year as Treasurer for the organization and also serves on the Executive Board. She does so much behind-the-scenes to manage our finances responsibly. We asked her why she enjoys volunteering for BFHNIN:

“Volunteering with Ballantyne Families further connects me to the community I’ve been part of for nearly 25 years. The greatest reward is to know that we’re literally helping our neighbors and to see the impact of the great work that we do."

Thank you for all you do, Jill!

NOTES OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Thank you to the students and friends who have written encouraging notes for the families during this holiday season. This includes Brighthouse Financial, Community House National Junior Honor Society, Forest Hill Church Life Group, Novant Health and others.

The deadline for the notes to go in the December holiday food bags is December 5, 2025!

OPPORTUNITIES TO GIVE THIS WINTER

❄️Take advantage of a fun and festive opportunity to make a donation and enjoy The Bowl’s new ice skating rink from November 22, 2025 - January 4, 2026. Collection bins will be located next to the concessions building during the skating season.

❄️Help keep our pantry stocked through the Amazon Wish List

❄️Volunteer in our pantry

❄️ 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.

DONATE

AMAZON WISHLIST

We are grateful to help families in need of food assistance and realize that other resources may be needed. We put together this resource guide to hopefully help with other unique circumstances.

14023 Lissadell Circle
Charlotte, North Carolina 28277
USA

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