Ballantyne Families Helping Neighbors In Need

Monthly Newsletter - May 2024

WE DID IT! We made it to 100%.

Because of you, over 100 food insecure families will feel less stress this summer! Can you imagine not being sure if you would be able to feed your kids? Also, the full $7500 match from a generous donor was received! Thank you to all who donated and helped spread the word!

It is amazing to see many, many families, individuals and companies come together to make the summer giving a success. We are thankful for the summer giving support from Brighthouse Financial, Novant Health, SunCap Property Group, Towne Bank, Project LeanNation, and Carolinas Referral Group Ballantyne.

I am also happy to report that 3 families were able to come off the summer giving list. Here is a note from one of our counselors: “One of my families is in a better position, and no longer requires BFHNIN services. They were very appreciative of the help given.”

Words of thanks don’t seem to be enough – thank you for your generosity!

Together, we are making a difference!

Heather and Team

Heather@ballantynefamilies.org

Thank You from a Ballantyne Families Recipient

“I just want to thank the BFHNIN for their kindness and support in providing the food bag and gift card for my family. Inflation has hit hard especially in the grocery stores and housing. I’m a single mom and it’s challenging to just maintain a roof over our heads. Nowadays, it definitely takes a 2-person income just to maintain. So once again thank you to BFHNIN for taking some pressure off me.”

Pantry Update

We were very fortunate to have some special visitors this month in the pantry! The Ballantyne Rotary stopped by for a tour and surprised us with a $500 donation! The money was spent on much needed items for the pantry. We are also grateful for Brooke Schonfeld and her daughter, Emerson, who shopped for the items needed and delivered them to the pantry. This was a huge help!

To date we have shopped over 435 pantry requests for families in need during this school year! That is a 188% increase from this time last year. Thank YOU for your donations of food and time. Without your help we would not be able to meet the increased need that we are seeing at this time.

The pantry team and volunteers completed inventory this month. Thanks to those who assisted! During inventory we check food dates, date items, and get a firm count on everything we have in the pantry. This will allow us to calculate exactly what we need to finish out the last month strong. May will be our last month to fill pantry requests because the food pantry closes during summer vacation. The amazon wish list will be updated with our most needed items to finish the year. We appreciate all you do!

Thanks again,

Erin, Tammy, and Sheilah

Food Drives/Partnership Update

It has been amazing to see the number of food drives held this past year to support our food pantry. Pravitha Menon coordinated a food drive in April with her local VT Seva chapter, a volunteer driven non-profit that promotes youth volunteering and philanthropy within our community. They brought in over 400 food items to the pantry to help us finish out the school year.

We also had a group of AK Students who held a food drive in conjunction with their prom dinner. What a great way to combine fun along with community service!

We are looking for individuals or groups to hold food drives in August as we prepare to reopen the pantry for the school year. If you are interested, please reach out to lauren@ballantynefamilies.org.

Sincerely,

Lauren Rosenbaum

Volunteer of the Month

Sally Pickard

Sally is a member at large on our Executive Board and in charge of our social media. She has been working with Ballantyne Families for several years!

We are so thankful for the time, effort and love that Sally puts into Ballantyne Families! We really appreciate her thought leadership and can do attitude along with her flexibility and willingness to help when needed.

Ballantyne Families wouldn’t be where we are today without Sally‘s help!

Thank you Sally for everything!

School Counselor Spotlight

Amber Heine - Rea Farms School Counselor

Some facts from Amber:

I am finishing my 4^th year as a counselor at Rea Farms. It is my 10^th year as a school counselor.
I received my undergraduate degree at the University of Kansas (Rock Chalk Jayhawk!) and my graduate degree at UNC-Charlotte.
Before becoming a school counselor, I worked as a victim advocate supporting women experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault in Denver, CO and Spokane, WA.
I am married and have two high school aged children.
My two favorite hobbies are running and reading. I love running long distances. My favorite genre of book is thrillers/mysteries.
I work with Ballantyne Families because I love the connection between the community at large and our school families. The story of how the non-profit was formed is an amazing example of what happens when communities truly care for each other. The passion and dedication exhibited by all the Ballantyne Families volunteers is inspiring. Our students learn empathy, compassion and the value of reaching out by watching the work of the Ballantyne Families organization.

What's Next

Summer Giving Distribution – May 31 : The school counselors/social worker will receive the summer support and distribute to the families before the end of the school year.

Our Needs

Amazon Wish List for the pantry – We need several items to finish out the school year. These items go directly to the pantry and are a BIG help! https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/WIUTGN2U4O9I

Food items for the pantry – These items are not economically purchased on Amazon but are in great need. If you are able please bring these to the Community House PTO room and label “for BF pantry”: small bottles of olive oil, vegetable/canola oil. Other needed items are: mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, mixed fruit and coffee (no pods).

Volunteer opportunities for you especially in the pantry on May 30, Thursday at 9:30 - the last pantry shop of the year, go to www.tinyurl.com/bfvolunteers2023-2024.

People Needs:

Marketing/Public Relations – We need expertise in looking at our entire branding to make sure that everything aligns and that we are doing everything that we should. If interested, please contact Heather at heather@ballantynefamilies.org

People Connectors – We need people to join our grants and corporate relations team. Looking for people who are willing to look for grant opportunities with local companies and connect with different Charlotte charities who give donations to nonprofits like Ballantyne Families. You don’t have to have experience – just the willingness to try! If interested, please contact Heather at heather@ballantynefamilies.org.

Corporate Sponsors – Does your company provide help to local nonprofits? Does your company give out grants to non-profits? Would your company like to work with us and help us fill some important holes? To find out more, please contact heather@ballantynefamilies.org.

Thank You

Thank you to Denise Oswald and Melissa Graham for running our largest summer giving campaign. We appreciate their time and dedication to make it very successful!

Thanks to the following people who volunteered this month in the food pantry: Alyssa Cowell, Amulya Deepak, Laurie Sheinhaus, Brooke and Emerson Schonfeld, Kerry Doub, Heather Fray, Amanda Freeman, Melissa Graham, Denise Oswald, Dominque Greve, Sara Seamann, Susan Hicks, Sangeeta Napa, Natalia Russo, and especially our amazing pantry leadership team: Erin Furey, Sheilah White and Tammy Menzel.

Thank you to Julie White who makes all of the Ballantyne Families’ notes for the pantry and the summer giving. She also makes the extremely helpful resource guide (in Spanish and English). To see the resource guide go to: https://ballantynefamilies.org/receive-help/. Also, thank you to Julie for coordinating all of the summer giving encouraging notes!

Thank you to the Ballantyne Rotary Club who came to visit our pantry and presented us with a donation!

Thank you to Pravitha Menon with VT Seva for coordinating a food drive in the month of April.

Thank you to Anne Brand who hosted an AK Prom dinner for several kids and held a food drive in conjunction with the dinner.

Thanks to the many people who have purchased food items for the pantry and the spring break bags through the Amazon Wish List. You have really helped to fill our pantry shelves!

A HUGE thank you to Dana White for creating and maintaining our contact database from the very beginning. She has been instrumental in making sure that everyone is communicated to. Thank you Dana for everything!

Thank you to Beth Robinson for her help with reviewing our financial books. We really appreciate her help.

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14023 Lissadell Circle
Charlotte, North Carolina 28277
USA