If you live in the Charlotte, NC area, there are plenty of non-profits that you can get involved in. We have compiled a list of some of the non-profits our stores work with here in the area, as well as ways that you can get involved!
Non-Profits that Help Women & Children
Baby Bundles
Founded by local Charlotteans, Baby Bundles provides a bag full of necessities – baby outfits, blankets and the like – to mothers in need as they leave the hospital with their newborns. The contents of each bag are worth about $305, helping families begin parenthood on the right foot. Since starting in 2010, Baby Bundles has delivered bags to families in and around Charlotte through our community partners.
Baby Bundles offers many opportunities to get involved:
- Make a No-Sew Baby Blanket
- Volunteer Tuesdays, email to schedule and confirm your time slot
- Private or Corporate events to build Baby Bundles
Allegro Foundation… a Champion for Children with Disabilities
Originally founded in 1991 in Los Angeles, the Allegro Foundation “emphasizes the total learning process by combining cognitive and muscle memories together to stimulate sequential and conceptual learning, problem-solving skills and communication, while also building motor skills/physical coordination, and eliciting strong emotional and physiological changes in the body.”
If you’re interested in getting involved with the Allegro Foundation, there are lots of opportunities, check out a few of them here:
- Volunteer in class with children: Work one-on-one with students in Allegro’s movement education class. This will be a time commitment of 30 minutes – 2 hours per week.
- Help out in the office: Allegro would love assistance with administrative work, yard maintenance, sewing or craft projects, or even power washing the exterior and walkways. The time commitment for this is flexible.
Beds for Kids
Beds for Kids serves over two thousand families each year, providing beds and essential furniture to children and families in need. The best way to get involved is through a monetary donation; Beds for Kids takes care of delivering the furniture to those in need! You can also contact for information about volunteering.
Compassion to Act
From their website, Compassion to Act’s Mission: Compassion to Act is a faith-based ministry on the front lines of confronting modern-day slavery. We’re boots on the ground going where no one else goes to liberate women. Our hands-on approach means we’re in the clubs, on the streets, building safe relationships for women to find a way to freedom. Our team commands rescue operations, short-term emergency safe-houses, and outreaches on locations where women are being exploited.
Compassion to Act goes beyond rescue to make dreams come true. The women we restore are often broken in heart and spirit, but have a will to survive. Our goal is to help them discover who they are, and who they can be. We start with connecting women to drug and addiction rehabilitation, counseling services, trauma therapy, legal counsel, and a community of trust and healthy relationships all at no cost.
Compassion to Act is a long-term community so these amazing overcomers never have to pursue their newfound freedom alone. We provide ongoing mentoring, job training, education, and a support network of relationships and services for sustained change. Our ultimate goal is for the liberated to become liberators.
If you’d like to get involved, there are several ways to do so:
- Give8 Campaign: Give $8 to represent a new beginning
- Join the Admin team
- Join the Prayer Network
- Fill out a volunteer application form to become a mentor, volunteer at events, join the outreach team or join the Men of Compassion coalition
Non-Profits that Assist Those with Life-Threatening or Terminal Illness
Heart2Heart Foundation Rock Hill
Heart2Heart is a local organization (right in Rock Hill, SC) focused on the prevention and early detection of heart disease. With their first gala in 2013, Heart2Heart has been serving the Charlotte community for several years and has developed some amazing partnerships with local organizations. Heart2Heart is a partner of The Heart Truth® Healthy Hearts Network, which is a network of organizations around the country working to increase awareness about heart disease and its risk factors, and increase heart-healthy behaviors.
With many special programs like Saving the Saviors (providing advance screenings, risk assessments, and lifestyle coaching at no cost for first responders in York County), Jeepers Have Heart (Jeep enthusiasts who put on special events to raise awareness about prevention of heart disease), and Red Heart Mamas (a women’s advocacy group), there are lots of opportunities to get involved!
DeAngelo Williams Foundation
Founded by loved Carolina Panther, DeAngelo Williams, this foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to develop and seek initiatives to support the eradication of breast cancer through preventative care and research.
If you’d like to get involved, you can email about volunteering at one of their many annual events, follow on social media, or even support the Foundation financially.
Wrens Village
When Wren was 3 years old, she underwent treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), which requires chemo, radiation and blood/platelet transfusions. Wren beat her cancer, and her family was inspired to begin making and delivering wallets ($200-$250 in gift cards) to help with gas, medicine and food to those in Levine’s Children’s Hospital with pediatric cancer.
You can contribute to Wren’s Village by making it your Charity of Choice while shopping on Amazon, sponsoring a wallet, or shopping their merchandise.
The Sandbox
The Sandbox serves families whose children have been diagnosed with cancer or other rare, life-altering and/or terminal illnesses through their CARRE (Caring About Real Relationships Empathetically) program. Through the CARRE program, The Sandbox develops relationships with each family so they can best understand the daily trials of having a child with a diagnosis and the role it plays on the entire family. From this relationship, The Sandbox fills the gaps within the family to provide support to sustain them on the journey.
If you’d like to get involved with the Sandbox, there are many opportunities to do so:
- GiveLove: Give Love through a monetary donation or joining a team to help The Sandbox run events or develop strategic initiatives
- Golf Fore CARRE: An annual golf tournament to benefit the CARRE program
- Attend a Signature Event
- Become a Mentor
Non-Profits Involved in Bettering the Community
Waxhaw Police Foundation
The Waxhaw Police Foundation is an independent non-profit organization that aims to support the Waxhaw Police Department in creating a safe town for the citizens, businesses and community. Through fun community events, like Waxhaw’s Got Talent and the Millbridge Fundraiser, the Foundation raises funds to achieve its goals.
Head to the WPF website to learn more about how you can get involved.
Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation
The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation (CRF) is a local, community-based group of members and volunteers located throughout the 26-county river basin that dedicates time, talent and treasure to ensuring the protection of the Catawba-Wateree River. Their goal is to sustain plentiful, clean water for generations to come.
If you are interested in helping to maintain the Catawba-Wateree River with the CRF, here are a few options:
- Cleanups: Cleanup season beings the first Saturday in October with the Annual Catawba Riversweep and ends April 30th. You can organize private events in your neighborhood or simply go to your nearest greenway for a few hours to pick up trash.
- Citizen Science: You can help protect the waterways by assisting in collecting data, monitoring water quality, conducting research and advocating for the River’s help.
- Young Allies of the River (YAR): A community of 20- and 30-somethings who share a vision of clean, plentiful waterways now and for future generations. For $25 per year, you can join in on great community-building events, a membership to the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation and more.
Rebuilding Together
Rebuilding Together of Greater Charlotte (RTGC)’s mission is repairing homes, revitalizing communities, rebuilding lives. They mobilize community volunteers and contractors to provide repairs that make homes safer and healthier for our neighbors in need. They also actively partner with other local organizations to connect the communities we serve with additional resources to meet their needs and help them create healthier, more vibrant neighborhoods. The vision is safe homes and communities for everyone.
To get involved with RTGC, you can donate, volunteer (demolition, gardening, painting, etc.) or attend one of their events!
Non-Profits Assisting Active-Duty Military & Veterans
Hook Line and Heroes
Hook Line and Heroes provides an unforgettable fishing experience to disabled and post-traumatic stress (PTS) military veterans and heroes. Through Christian scripture, Hook Line and Heroes educates these veterans in the ways of fishing, creating an unforgettable experience on the water.
If you’d like to get involved, you can become a member of Healing Heroes, nominate a veteran or contact them for more information.
USO
USO North Carolina is part of the United Service Organizations, which was founded in 1941. USO is the nation’s leading charitable organization to serve the men and women in the U.S. military, and their families, throughout their time in uniform. USO North Carolina supports military service men and women in the state of North Carolina. Eleven percent of U.S. military active duty forces call North Carolina home. With seven major military installations, North Carolina has the fourth largest demographic of active and reserve duty components in the country. The USO NC serves an average of 109,000 troops and their families annually, in addition to providing assistance with Rack Packs, Care Packages, deployments and homecomings.
You can get involved with the USO through joining Force Behind the Forces, volunteering, or donating to their in-kind donation wish list.
Other Great Charlotte-area Non-Profits
Para Guide
The Para Guide Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, was founded in Charlotte, NC in 2017 with the purpose of supporting adaptive athletes in the pursuit of accessibility, inclusion, and equity. The services provided by Para Guide include sighted guides for adaptive athletes who want to walk, run, cycle, and swim or participate in group exercise events.
If you are an avid runner, biker or swimmer (or you’re trying to get there!), Para Guide is a great way to continue to work on your fitness while also giving back to the community. Learn more about being a sighted volunteer, or about donating your time, equipment or money directly to this non-profit.
Destination Home Puppy Rescue
Destination Home Puppy Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that saves and rehabilitates puppies that have been abused and abandoned. Through volunteer foster families, this organization helps puppies trust humans and know love.
You can get involved by applying to be a foster parent or purchasing items from their Amazon Wish List. Visit their Facebook page for more information.
If you’re looking for a way to get involved with the community or local non-profits, your local Morningstar Storage Property Manager is a great resource! Each store works with local non-profits through our Morningstar Cares program, and we would be happy to let you know of some great ones in your area.
